StS 


IE  VARIED  BEAUTY 
OF  THE  PSALMS 


BY 


RABBI  H.  G.  ENELOW,  D.D. 

TEMPLE  EMANU-EL,  NEW  YORK 


NEW  YORK 

BLOCK  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 
1917 

$u 

b^^»SK>S^SK>SK>SK>SK>S5 

aXS36£5«» 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  O* 

CALIFORNIA 
SAN  Ditso 


j 


—  «  raws  . 

«  JOLLA 


JOLLA.  CALIFORNIA 


LIBRARY 

"IVSRSITY 
'•4UFORH1 

SAN  oiceo 


0am*  Author 


ASPECTS  OF  THE  BIBLE 

THE  JEWISH   LIFE 

THE  SYNAGOGUE  IN   MODERN   LIFE 

THE  EFFECTS  OF  RELIGION 

THE  FAITH  OF  ISRAEL 


THE  VARIED  BEAUTY  OF  THE  PSALMS 


THE  VARIED  BEAUTY 
OF  THE  PSALMS 


BY 

H.  G.  ENELOW 

RABBI  OF 

TEMPLE  EMANU-EL 
NEW  YORK 


NEW  YORK 

BLOCK  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 
1917 


COPYRIGHT,     1917 


H.    G.    ENELOW 


TO 

Mrs.    N.    J.    M. 


NOTE 

These  chapters  contain  the  substance 
of  a  course  of  lectures  delivered  at  Temple 
Emanu-El,  New  York,  on  Monday  morn- 
ings, in  the  months  of  November  and  De- 
cember, 1915.  The  lectures  included  il- 
lustrative readings  from  the  Psalms  and 
general  literature,  which  probably  formed 
their  chief  interest,  and  which  are,  at 
most,  but  alluded  to  in  this  little  book.  In 
publishing  the  latter,  however,  the  author 
hopes  he  may  help  point  out  some  of  the 
many  beauties  of  Israel's  immortal  poetry. 
When  first  given,  the  lectures  were  heard 
by  a  group  of  loyal  and  appreciative  hear- 
ers, to  all  of  whom  the  author  feels  grate- 
ful, and  to  one  of  the  most  faithful  and 
most  generous  of  whom  he  has  taken  the 
liberty  of  dedicating  these  pages. 


CONTENTS 

I  The  Historic  Beauty  of  the  Psalter.  .  13 

II  The  Poetic  Beauty  of  the  Psalms ...  29 

III  The  Religion  of  the  Psalms 41 

IV  Mysticism  in  the  Psalms 51 

V     The  Psalms  of  Pensive  Doubt 63 

VI     The    Beauties    of    Nature    in    the 

Psalms 73 

VII     Music  and  Dance  in  the  Psalms 85 

VIII     The  Influence  of  the  Psalms . .  .  95 


THE  HISTORIC  BEAUTY  OF  THE 
PSALTER 

NO  book  of  the  Bible  offers  so  fit  a 
subject  of  study  at  present  as  the 
Psalms.  Our  age  has  witnessed  a 
remarkable  revival  of  interest  in  the  spir- 
itual life.  Though  this  revival  began  be- 
fore the  war,  the  latter  has  intensified  it. 

Literature  is  part  of  life.  It  not  only 
reflects  the  life  of  a  people  but  also  stimu- 
lates it.  Our  spiritual  revival  is  reflected 
in  a  good  deal  of  modern  literature,  and 
has,  no  doubt,  been  furthered  by  it.  When 
was  there  as  much  of  the  spiritual,  of  the 
mystic,  emphasized  in  poetry,  in  philo- 
sophy, in  the  essay  and  the  drama  as  to- 
day? At  such  a  time  we  naturally  turn 
to  the  Psalms,  the  greatest  and  most  en- 
during collection  of  spiritual  poetry  ever 
produced. 

"The  choice  and  flower  of  all  things 
profitable  in  other  books  the  Psalms  do 
both  more  briefly  contain  and  more  mov- 
ingly express."  Thus  writes  Hooker,  the 
13 


sixteenth  century  English  divine,  and  then 
he  asks:  "What  is  there  necessary  for 
men  to  know  which  the  Psalms  are  not 
able  to  teach?"  As  far  as  the  spiritual 
experience  of  man  is  concerned,  none  fa- 
miliar with  the  Psalms  will  deny  the  jus- 
tice of  this  question.  All  that  goes  to 
make  up  man's  spiritual  experience  is 
there ;  his  joys,  longings,  disappointments 
— his  feeling  and  quest  of  God,  and  the 
happiness  and  the  sorrows  that  form  part 
of  it.  It  is  because  the  Psalms  reflect  all 
the  beauties  of  the  spirit — both  exultant 
and  melancholy — that  they  are  so  univer- 
sal and  durable,  and  that  one  is  ever  glad 
to  return  to  them. 

Not  the  least  part  of  the  beauty  of  the 
Psalms  is  hidden  in  their  history.  They 
are  a  book  with  a  history.  It  is  what 
makes  them  captivating  at  once,  and  more 
so  to  us  than  they  could  possibly  have 
been  to  those  of  former  days  who  were 
not  aware  of  the  fact. 

The  historical  sense  is  a  modern  ac- 
quirement. It  is  the  modern  man  who  has 
learned  that  everything  in  the  world  has 
passed  through  a  process  of  growth,  and 
14 


has  realized  what  a  fine  privilege  it  is  to  be 
able  to  trace  growth  in  the  world — not 
only  in  life,  but  also  in  art,  in  literature, 
in  thought,  in  faith.  In  olden  times  they 
imagined  that  only  the  perfect  was  ad- 
mirable, and  the  things  created  perfect. 
Modern  man  has  discovered  two  things. 
First,  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  per- 
fection on  earth. 

"On  the  earth  the  broken  arcs ;  in  the  heaven, 
a  perfect  round." 

And,  secondly,  that  if  perfection  is  ad- 
mirable, it  is  no  more  so  than  the  process 
of  perfection,  the  struggle  for  it,  the 
growth  and  unfoldment  and  outreach  to- 
ward it.  Rather  the  quest  of  truth  he 
would  have,  said  Lessing,  than  its  posses- 
sion; the  latter  he  would  leave  to  God. 
Perfection  is  divine;  growth  toward  per- 
fection is  human.  It  interests  us.  It  en- 
thralls us.  It  forms  the  romance  of  human 
life.  It  makes  for  history.  Only  what 
grows  has  history. 

The  Psalms  become  not  less  but  more 

fascinating  when  we  realize  that  they  are 

a  book  with  a  history.    Time  was  when 

people   thought   that  the   Psalms   were 

15 


wholly  the  work  of  King  David,  and  that 
all  their  beauty  and  sanctity  was  bound 
up  with  such  authorship. 

The  other  day  I  read  the  beautiful  104th 
Psalm  to  some  children.  I  had  them  read 
it  by  themselves  at  home,  and  then  I  dis- 
cussed it  with  them,  trying  to  get  them  to 
see  its  many  beauties.  The  children  had 
no  trouble  getting  the  meaning  of  that 
superb  poem.  One  of  them,  however, 
asked  all  of  a  sudden  whether  King  David 
had  really  written  it  all.  The  child  was 
both  shocked  and  relieved  when  I  said  that 
there  was  nothing  about  David  in  that 
particular  Psalm,  and  that  it  was  almost 
certainly  not  written  by  him.  Evidently 
the,child  had  heard  some  sceptical  discus- 
sion of  the  subject.  Grown  people,  also, 
are  occasionally  shocked  to  be  told  that 
David  was  not  the  author  of  all  the 
Psalms,  and  imagine  that  denial  of 
David's  authorship  means  to  rob  the 
Psalms  of  all  their  glory. 

Quite  the  contrary  is  the  case.  What 
forms  one  of  the  many  beauties  of  this 
noble  book  is  that  it  came  not  from  one 
author,  however  ancient  and  royal,  nor 
from  one  age,  however  illustrious.  There 

16 


is  so  much  spiritual  riches  in  the  Psalter, 
because  in  it  is  stored  up  much  of  the  best 
poetry  of  Israel  from  many  ages  and  by 
more  singers  than  we  shall  ever  know.  A 
multitude  of  seers'  and  singers'  voices  are 
blended  in  its  choir;  all  their  varied  ex- 
periences are  mirrored  in  its  verses;  the 
struggles  and  woes  and  triumphs  and  de- 
feats of  centuries  resound  in  its  stanzas: 
hence,  its  fulness  and  depth  and  variety 
of  beauty.  This  is  what  made  it  the  book 
not  of  an  individual  but  of  a  people.  It 
is  a  people's  heart  that  throbs  in  its  pages. 
"There  is  a  great  difference,"  said  the 
wise  Pascal,  "between  a  book  which  an 
individual  makes  and  thrusts  into  a 
people  and  a  book  which  itself  makes  a 
people."  The  Psalms  came  from  the 
people  and  they  kept  on  making  the  spir- 
itual life  of  the  people. 

One  need  not  have  studied  the  Psalms 
long  to  discover  how  impossible  it  is  to 
attribute  them  all  to  King  David.  That 
the  ancients  thought  so,  is  no  argument. 
The  ancients  did  not  trouble  much  about 
historical  accuracy.  They  were  more  in- 
terested in  the  meaning  of  their  tradi- 

17 


tions  and  literature  than  in  a  criticism  of 
their  origin,  and  they  had  a  fancy  for  an- 
cient and  royal  authors.    Historical  diffi- 
culties they  could  easily  explain  away. 
Read  the  Psalms,  however,  and  you  see 
at  once  that  David  could  not  have  writ- 
ten them  all.    How  could  the  Psalms  de- 
picting the  destruction  of  the  Temple,  for 
example,  or  the  gloom  of  the  Babylonian 
captivity,  have  come  from  David?    It  is 
true  that  many  Psalms,  particularly  in 
the  early  part  of  the  book,  are  in  the  titles 
ascribed  to  David.     But  these  headings 
in  most  cases  came  from  later  hands — 
from  those  of  editors — and  there  is  no 
subject  more  obscure  than  the  meaning 
of  the  headings  of  the  Psalms.    The  in- 
ternal evidence  of  the  Psalms  themselves 
is  stronger  than  the  headings;  and  this 
makes  it  impossible  to  believe  that  most 
of  them  came  from  David. 

The  truth  is  that  the  Psalms  constitute 
a  collection.  It  is  a  treasury  of  sacred 
poems  that  grew  up  gradually.  Even  the 
present  collection  was  not  made  all  at 
once.  Doubtless,  it  represents  a  final  col- 
lection, which  was  preceded  by,  and 
based  upon,  smaller  collections.  It  is  a 

18 


collection  of  collections.  Otherwise,  why 
should  we  have  some  Psalms — for  in- 
stance the  fourteenth  and  the  fifty-third 
— in  slightly  different  forms  in  different 
parts  of  the  book?  Or  why  should 
Bended"  be  found  at  the  close  of  Psalm 
seventy-two,  though  there  is  a  goodly 
number  of  Psalms,  more  than  half  the 
book,  still  following  it?  These  are  some 
of  the  indications  that  the  process  of  col- 
lecting these  poems  was  a  long  one,  and 
that  it  was  after  smaller  collections  had 
been  in  vogue  for  some  time,  that  the  final 
collection,  as  we  possess  it,  was  made. 

In  its  present  form,  the  Psalms  consist 
of  five  books,  corresponding,  according 
to  some  old  rabbis,  to  the  five  books  of 
Moses.  At  the  end  of  each  book  there  is 
a  doxology,  showing  the  division.  The 
books  are  as  follows : 

I.     Psalm      1—  41 
II.     Psalm    42—  72 

III.  Psalm    73—  89 

IV.  Psalm    90—106 
V.     Psalm  107—150 

Various  considerations  lead  to  the  con- 
clusion that  these  book  represent  in  the 
main  three  collections:  first,  a  collection 

19 


comprising  Book  I;  then,  one  comprising 
Books  II  and  III;  and,  thirdly,  one  com- 
prising Books  IV  and  V.  It  is  note- 
worthy, that  in  Book  I  are  contained  the 
simpler  and  more  individual  Psalms, 
while  the  more  elaborate  and  communal 
ones  are  found  in  the  later  collections. 

As  we  study  the  Psalter  in  its  present 
form,  there  are  many  questions  that  we 
should  like  to  be  able  to  answer.  For  in- 
stance: Did  David  write  any  of  the 
Psalms,  and  if  so,  which?  Who  were  the 
other  authors?  How  far  back  in  Israel's 
history  does  authorship  of  the  Psalms 
take  us?  And  how  far  down?  These  are 
all  questions  of  great  interest.  Unfor- 
tunately, we  can  only  speculate  about 
most  of  them.  Little  certitude  we  can  ob- 
tain from  the  titles  of  the  Psalms.  They 
themselves  are  obscure,  and  such  as  they 
are,  they  were  probably  added  by  later 
editors. 

All  we  can  say  is  that  in  all  likelihood 
the  making  of  the  Psalter  passed  through 
the  three  stages  shared  by  the  whole  Bible. 
A  certain  writer  has  described  them  as 
follows :  First,  the  Elemental  Stage ;  then, 

20 


the  Medial  Stage;  and,  lastly,  the  Final 
Stage.  During  the  first,  the  individual 
Psalms  were  composed  by  their  original 
authors;  during  the  second,  they  entered 
into  the  collections  that  were  made  from 
time  to  time;  and  during  the  last,  they 
were  all  gathered  into  the  present  Psalter. 

This  process  began  in  the  earliest  pe- 
riod of  Jewish  history.  David,  famed  as 
singer  as  well  as  ruler,  probably  stimu- 
lated it;  and  it  lasted  until  the  Maccabean 
period,  the  latter  part  of  the  second  cen- 
tury B.  C.,  which,  it  is  believed,  itself  con- 
tributed additions  to  the  Psalter.  Thus, 
it  is  easy  to  see  how  intimately  the  his- 
tory of  the  Psalter  is  connected  with  the 
history  of  Israel,  and  how  natural  it  is  to 
find  reflected  in  it  the  experience  of  Israel, 
with  all  its  changes  of  fortune,  with  its 
triumphs  and  defeats. 

It  would  be  easy  to  construe  a  poetic 
chronicle  of  Israel,  from  the  time  of  the 
flourishing  kingdom  down  to  the  Babylon- 
ian captivity  and  the  Return,  by  assem- 
bling the  pertinent  Psalms.  Take,  for  in- 
stance, the  second  Psalm.  Here  we  see 
the  King  of  Zion,  proud  of  his  throne  and 
21 


certain  of  Divine  anointment  and  protec- 
tion. He  defies  the  rebellious  princes  who 
would  throw  off  his  yoke;  their  antics 
amuse  him,  as  they  must  amuse  his  God. 
It  is  a  triumphant  ruler  who  greets  us  in 
the  second  Psalm. 

"Why  do  the  nations  rage, 
And  the  peoples  imagine  a  vain  thing? 
The  kings  of  the  earth  set  themselves, 
And  the  rulers  take  counsel  together, 
Against  the  Lord,  and  against  His  annointed, 

saying, 

'Let  us  break  their  bands  asunder, 
And  cast  away  their  cords  from  us!' 
He  that  sitteth  in  the  heavens  shall  laugh: 
The  Lord  shall  have  them  in  derision. 
Now,  therefore,  be  wise,  O  ye  kings: 
Be  instructed,  ye  judges  of  the  earth, 
Serve  the  Lord  with  fear, 
And  rejoice  with  trembling ! 
Worship  ye,  lest  He  be  angry,  and  ye  perish 

in  the  way, 
For  His  wrath  will  soon  be  kindled." 

Equally  happy  is  the  condition  por- 
trayed in  the  twentieth  and  the  twenty- 
first  Psalms.  Here  we  see  the  King  go 
forth  to  battle  amid  the  prayers  and  beni- 
sons  of  a  loyal  people.  And  we  see  him 
return,  amid  the  joyous  greetings  of  his 
22 


people,  God  having  granted  his  heart's 
desire  and  subdued  his  foes. 

"The  king  shall  joy  in  Thy  strength,  O  Lord ; 
And  in  Thy  salvation  how  greatly  shall  he 

rejoice ! 

Thou  hast  given  him  his  heart's  desire, 
And  hast  not  withholden  the  request  of  his 

lips. 

He  asked  life  of  Thee,  Thou  gavest  it  him, 
Even  length  of  days  for  ever  and  ever. 
His  glory  is  great  in  Thy  salvation : 
Honor  and  majesty  dost  Thou  lay  upon  him." 

But  look  at  the  very  next  Psalm,  the 
twenty-second,  and  what  a  different  pic- 
ture! Here  we  see  a  people  forgotten 
of  its  God,  delivered  to  the  sword  of 
famine,  to  the  power  of  dogs,  the  mouths 
of  lions  and  the  horns  of  unicorns — in  a 
word,  left  to  all  manner  of  foe.  It  is  a 
picture  of  a  people,  once  proud  of  Divine 
protection,  laid  waste  and  trodden  under- 
foot. 

"My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  Thou  forsaken 

me? 
How  art  Thou  so  far  from  helping  me,  and 

from  the  words  of  my  roaring? 
O  my  God,  I  cry  in  the  daytime,  but  Thou 

answerest  not ; 

And  in  the  night  season,  and  am  not  silent. 
23 


But  be  not  Thou  far  off,  O  Lord : 
O  Thou  my  succor,  haste  Thee  to  help  me. 
Deliver  my  soul  from  the  sword : 
My  darling,  from  the  power  of  the  dog. 
Save  me  from  the  lion's  mouth ; 
Yea,  from  the  horns  of  the  wild  oxen  answer 
me!" 

A  step  farther  we  are  taken  in  the 
pathetic  one  hundred  and  thirty-seventh 
Psalm.  Here  we  see  the  captives  torn 
away  from  their  native  hearth  and  car- 
ried to  Babylon.  We  see  them  mocked  by 
their  foes,  taunted,  jeered,  driven  to  fury 
and  despair. 

"By  the  rivers  of  Babylon, 
There  we  sat  down,  yea,  we  wept, 
When  we  remembered  Zion. 
Upon  the  willows  in  the  midst  thereof 
We  hanged  up  our  harps. 
For  there  they  that  led  us  captive  required 

of  us  songs, 
And  they  that  wasted   us  required   of  us 

mirth,  saying, 

'Sing  us  one  of  the  songs  of  Zion!' 
How  shall  we  sing  the  Lord's  song 
In  a  strange  land? 
If  I  forget  thee,  O  Jerusalem, 
Let  my  right  hand  forget  her  cunning ! 
Let  my  tongue  cleave  to  the  roof  of  my 

mouth, 

24 


If  I  remember  thee  not; 
If  I  prefer  not  Jerusalem  above  my  chief 
joy!" 

This  mood  of  miserable  fury,  of  des- 
pair, does  not  last,  however.  There  is 
the  rebound  to  prayer  and  hope,  which 
form  the  core  of  Israel's  perennial  optim- 
ism. They  hope  and  pray  for  return,  for 
restoration  to  the  holy  ancestral  soil. 

"O,  that  the  salvation  of  Israel  were  come  out 

of  Zion! 
When  the  Lord  bringeth  back  the  captivity 

of  his  people, 
Then  shall  Jacob  rejoice,  and  Israel  shall 

be  glad." 

Finally,  in  the  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
sixth  Psalm,  we  have  a  song  of  the  re- 
turning exiles — full  of  the  joy  and  the 
triumph — the  tear-laden  joy  of  a  sweet 
dream  come  true. 

"When  the  Lord  turned  again  the  captivity  of 

Zion, 

We  were  like  unto  them  that  dream. 
Then  was  our  mouth  filled  with  laughter, 
And  our  tongue  with  singing: 
Then  said  they  among  the  nations, 
'The  Lord  hath  done  great  things  for  them !' 
The  Lord  hath  done  great  things  for  us ; 
Whereof  we  are  glad. 

25 


Turn  again  our  captivity,  O  Lord, 
As  the  streams  in  the  south ! 

They  that  sow  in  tears  shall  reap  in  joy. 
Though  he  goeth  on  his  way  weeping,  bear- 
ing forth  the  seed : 

He  shall  come  again  with  joy,  bringing  his 
sheaves  with  him." 

The  poetic  portrayal  of  Jewish  history 
in  the  Psalms  does  not  end  here ;  the  sub- 
sequent period  is  not  without  imprint  in 
its  pages;  but  enough  has  been  said  to 
show  that  the  Psalter  may  well  be  called 
a  poetic  chronicle  of  Israel. 

Moreover,  in  the  Psalms  themselves 
nothing  is  stronger  than  what  may  be 
called  the  historic  sense.  Again  and  again 
we  see  the  Psalmist  dwell  on  the  history 
of  Israel — the  wonder,  the  majesty,  and 
the  miracle  of  it  all.  Appreciation  of  the 
wonders  of  history  is  for  the  Psalmist  in- 
terwoven with  the  thought  of  God.  His- 
tory reveals  God  to  the  poet.  Some  of 
the  most  noteworthy  Psalms,  like  the 
sixty-eighth,  are  epical  surveys  of  the 
march  of  God  through  history,  and  they 
cannot  help  reminding  us  of  the  histori- 
cal character  of  the  book  itself. 
26 


Once  we  grasp  this  history,  the  Psalter 
becomes  the  more  beautiful,  as  well  as 
the  more  interesting.  It  is  no  longer  a 
fixed  book,  a  static  book,  a  one  man's 
book.  It  becomes  to  us,  what  in  reality 
it  is,  a  living  book,  the  outpouring  of  Is- 
rael's soul  through  the  centuries,  a  grow- 
ing well  of  the  joys  and  sorrows,  the 
praises  and  exaltations,  the  hopes  and 
enthusiasms  of  the  Jewish  people  and  its 
most  gifted  singers.  And  as  we  read  it, 
we  seem  to  hear  again  those  cries  and 
sighs,  those  praises  and  prayers,  that 
music  and  musing,  issuing  from  the  var- 
ious parts  of  Israel's  dispersion. 

In  this  historical  riches  lies  one  of  the 
lasting  beauties  of  the  Psalms. 


27 


II 


THE  POETIC  BEAUTY  OF  THE 
PSALMS 

ONE  of  the  unfinished  tasks  of  literary 
criticism  is  a  definition  of  poetry. 
Though  often  it  has  been  tried,  it  is 
still  far  from  settled.  Ever  and  anon  a 
fresh  effort  is  made,  getting  little  beyond 
discussion  and  the  realization  that  it  is 
easier  to  appreciate  poetry  than  to  define 
it.  However,  a  recent  writer  on  the  sub- 
ject has  said  something  that  touches  the 
core.  "It  is  the  immortal  in  man,"  he 
says,  "that  speaks  in  poetry.  In  poetry  he 
voices  the  soul  and  is  part  of  the  spirit  that 
breathes  in  everything." 

If  that  be  the  essence  of  poetry,  it  is 
natural  to  expect  in  the  Psalms  a  great 
deal  of  poetic  beauty.  For  what  but  that 
is  the  content  of  the  Psalms?  "It  is  the 
immortal  in  man  that  speaks  in  poetry." 
If  anywhere  in  literature  we  find  the  im- 
mortal in  man  speaking,  if  anywhere  we 
find  man  voicing  his  soul,  it  is  in  this  sac- 
red anthology  of  ancient  Israel.  This  is 
29 


exactly  what  men  have  grown  in  the  habit 
of  calling  the  Psalms.  "The  Psalms,"  it 
has  been  said,  "is  the  response  of  the 
human  soul  to  God."  Or,  again:  "The 
Psalter  may  be  regarded  as  the  heart's 
echo  to  the  speech  of  God,  the  manifold 
music  of  its  wind-swept  strings  as  God's 
breath  swept  across  them." 

What  we  find  in  the  Psalms  is  the  com- 
munion of  the  human  soul  with  God — 
of  the  soul  in  its  variety  of  moods  and  ex- 
periences. The  question  has  been  asked 
now  and  then  as  to  how  much  of  the  doc- 
trine of  immortality  may  be  traced  in  the 
Psalms.  This  question  has  had  different 
answers.  Speculation  about  it  will  con- 
tinue. But  one  thing  is  certain.  In  the 
Psalms  we  see  the  immortal  in  man  strug- 
gling for  expression,  we  hear  the  speech 
of  the  soul  yearning  to  utter  all  its  wants 
and  woes,  all  its  intimations  and  aspira- 
tions, we  hear  that  expression  of  spiritual 
ecstasy  which,  we  are  told,  forms  the  es- 
sence of  poetry. 

As  a  rule,  man  looketh  on  the  outward 
appearance — even  in  poetry.  That  is  why 
we  often  fail  to  recognize  the  poetic  na- 

30 


ture  and  beauty  of  the  Psalms,  as  well  as 
of  other  parts  of  the  Bible.  Ordinarily, 
we  associate  poetry  with  the  idea  of 
metre,  rhyme,  and  stanza.  These  things, 
however,  we  do  not  often  find  in  the 
Psalms.  Though  of  late  efforts  have  been 
made  to  discover  and  demonstrate  the  ex- 
istence of  such  outward  signs  of  poetry 
in  the  Bible,  they  have  had  but  little  suc- 
cess. There  may  be  an  occasional  rhyme 
in  the  original  text  of  the  Bible,  there 
may  be  passages  suggesting  the  presence 
of  metre  (particularly  in  the  elegy),  in 
some  few  places  we  may  have  divisions 
resembling  stanzas.  But  all  these  occur- 
rences are  incidental.  They  do  not  be- 
long to  the  essence  of  Biblical  poetry. 
They  do  not  constitute  the  prerequisite  of 
poetry  in  the  Psalms,  and  latter-day 
students  have  exaggerated  their  import- 
ance. 

Nothing  is  more  true  than  that  the 
poetry  of  the  Psalms  does  not  depend  on 
outward  form.  It  is  not  confined  within 
the  conventional  poetic  restraints,  and 
cannot  be  explained  by  a  set  of  literary 
regulations.  I  have  said  that  in  the 
Psalms,  above  all,  the  soul  is  speaking,  the 
31 


immortal  in  man,  the  spiritual.  The  soul 
knows  no  restraints.  Its  utterance  scorns 
mechanical  devices.  Its  ecstasy  will  be 
bound  by  no  artificial  forms.  That  is  why 
it  is  idle  to  seek  rhyme  and  metre  in  the 
Psalter,  particularly  in  its  most  exalted 
parts.  "The  more  natural  the  poetic  ex- 
pression of  thought  and  feeling,"  it  has 
been  said,  "the  freer  it  will  be  from  con- 
ventional regulation." 

One  characteristic  of  poetry,  however, 
we  find  in  the  Psalms.  It  is  a  character- 
istic essential  to  all  poetic  expression,  in- 
deed, to  all  art,  namely,  rhythm. 

Rhythm  means  harmony,  poise,  bal- 
ance ;  it  means  opportunity  for  contempla- 
tion. Rhythm  "prolongs  the  moment  of 
contemplation",  Mr.  Yeats  has  said.  It 
makes  us  linger  on  a  gesture,  sound,  word. 
Perhaps  that  is  why  the  poetry  of  the 
Bible,  whatever  it  may  lack,  makes  so 
much  of  rhythm.  The  men  of  the  East 
were  men  of  contemplation,  of  spiritual 
leisure,  with  a  love  for  lingering  on  sights 
and  sounds,  on  images  and  ideas.  Per- 
haps this  is  what  made  for  the  character- 
istic trait  of  Bible  poetry,  which  is  com- 
monly designated  as  Parallelism. 

32 


Parallelism  means  the  habit  of  reiterat- 
ing or  amplifying  or  supplementing  a 
thought  expressed  in  one  line  by  another 
line  following  it.  That  is  the  leading 
formal  characteristic  of  all  Bible  poetry, 
distinguishing  it  from  prose;  and,  of 
course,  it  constitutes  the  style  of  the 
Psalms.  Ordinarily,  reiteration  would  add 
little  to  poetic  beauty;  it  might  make  for 
monotony  and  redundancy.  But  it  has 
the  opposite  effect  in  the  Bible.  It  makes 
for  rhythm,  for  riches,  for  clarity,  and  for 
that  atmosphere  of  contemplation  which 
is  essential  to  the  growth  of  the  tender 
flowers  of  the  soul. 

"Give  ear  to  my  words,  O  Lord, 

Consider  my  meditation ! 
Hearken  unto  the  voice  of  my  cry, 
My  King,  and  my  God : 
For  unto  Thee  will  I  pray. 
My  voice  shalt  Thou  hear  in  the  morning,  O 

Lord; 
In  the  morning  will  I  turn  unto  Thee,  and 

will  look  up! 
For  Thou  art  not  a  God  that  hath  pleasure  in 

wickedness : 

Neither  shall  evil  dwell  with  Thee. 
The  arrogant  shall  not  stand  in  Thy  sight: 
Thou  hatest  all  workers  of  iniquity. 

33 


But  as  for  me, 

In  the  multitude  of  Thy  lovingkindness  will 

I  come  into  Thy  house: 
In  Thy  fear  will  I  worship  toward  Thy  holy 

temple." 

As  poetry  of  the  soul,  we  can  easily  see 
what  species  of  poetry  will  abound  in  the 
Psalter.  Of  course,  the  lyric.  The  lyric, 
wherever  we  find  it,  is  the  subjective  ex- 
pression of  a  poet's  soul.  It  is  the  poetry 
of  emotion  and  meditation.  It  was  nat- 
ural for  the  poets  of  Israel  to  produce 
chiefly  lyrical  poetry,  seeing  that  they  be- 
longed to  an  emotional  and  meditative 
people.  The  highest  flight  of  lyric  poetry 
we  find  in  the  Psalms;  and  namely,  the 
highest  not  only  in  Hebrew,  but  in  all  lit- 
erature. Mr.  Watts-Dunton  has  styled  it 
the  Great  Lyric.  Dealing  with  the  noblest 
themes  of  life,  with  the  depest  quest  of  the 
soul,  it  was  natural  for  the  lyric  of  the 
Psalms  thus  to  excell. 

"Out  of  the  depths  have  I  cried  unto  Thee,  O 

Lord! 

Lord,  hear  my  voice: 
Let  Thine  ears  be  attentive 
To  the  voice  of  my  supplications! 
I  wait  for  the  Lord,  my  soul  doth  wait, 

34 


And  in  His  word  do  I  hope. 

My  soul  looketh  for  the  Lord 

More  than  watchmen  look  for  the  morning, 

Yea,  more  than  watchmen  for  the  morning." 

Just  because  the  lyric  is  the  only  species 
of  poetry  in  the  Psalms,  we  see  it  assume 
different  forms.  It  reflects  the  soul  of 
many  poets,  and  the  same  poets  in  various 
moods.  It  shows  us  the  spirit  of  the  poet 
struggling  with  the  eternal  questions  of 
life,  with  the  hidden  purposes  of  Provi- 
dence. It  shows  us  the  poet  in  a  reminis- 
cent mood,  in  a  hopeful  mood,  in  a  defi- 
ant, or  melancholy,  or  triumphant  mood. 

Now  it  is: 

"Hear  my  prayer,  O  Lord, 
And  let  my  cry  come  unto  Thee ! 
Hide  not  Thy  face  from  me 
In  the  day  of  my  distress. 
For  my  days  consume  away  like  smoke, 
And  my  bones  are  burned  as  a  firebrand. 
My  heart  is  smitten  like  grass,  and  withered : 
For  I  forget  to  eat  my  bread!" 

And  now: 

"My  heart  is  fixed,  O  God: 
I  will  sing,  yea,  I  will  sing  praises, 
Even  with  my  glory. 
Awake,  Psalter  and  harp: 

35 


I  will  awake  the  dawn! 

I  will  give  thanks  unto  Thee,  O  Lord,  among 

the  peoples : 
And  I  will  sing  praises  unto  Thee  among  the 

nations. 

For  Thy  mercy  is  great  above  the  heavens, 
And  Thy  truth  reacheth  unto  the  skies." 

Again  he  cries: 

"I  am  bent  and  bowed  down  greatly; 
I  go  mourning  all  the  day  long. 
For  my  loins  are  filled  with  burning ; 
And  there  is  no  soundness  in  my  flesh. 
I  am  faint  and  sore  bruised : 
I  have  roared  by  reason  of  the  disquietness 

of  ipy  heart. 

Lord,  all  my  desire  is  before  Thee ; 
And  my  groaning  is  not  hid  from  Thee. 
My  heart  throbbeth,  my  strength  faileth  me : 
As  for  for  the  light  of  mine  eyes,  it  also  is 

gone  from  me. 
My  lovers  and  my  friends  stand  aloof  from 

my  plague ; 

And  my  kinsmen  stand  afar  off. 
But  mine  enemies  are  lively,  and  are  strong : 
And  they  that  hate  me  falsely  are  multiplied. 
Forsake  me  not,  O  Lord : 
O  my  God,  be  not  far  from  me. 
Make  haste  to  help  me, 
O  Lord,  my  salvation!'* 

And  then  again : 
"I  waited  patiently  for  the  Lord ; 
36 


And  He  inclined  unto  me,  and  heard  my  cry. 

He  brought  me  up  also  out  of  a  horrible  pit, 
out  of  the  miry  clay ; 

And  He  set  my  feet  upon  a  rock,  and  estab- 
lished my  goings. 

He  hath  put  a  new  song  into  my  mouth, 

Even  praise  unto  our  God ! 

Many  shall  see  it,  and  fear, 

And  shall  trust  in  the  Lord." 

Or: 

"Lord,  my  heart  is  not  haughty,  nor  mine  eyes 

lofty; 

Neither  do  I  exercise  myself  in  great  matters, 
Or  in  things  too  wonderful  for  me. 
Surely,  I  have  stilled  and  quieted  my  soul ; 
Like  a  weaned  child  with  his  mother: 
My  soul  is  with  me  like  a  weaned  child." 

It  is  the  poetry  of  moods :  we  must  un- 
derstand that  in  order  to  understand  the 
Psalms  at  all.  Therefore,  we  find  in  the 
Psalms  lyrics  of  all  kinds :  the  pure  lyric, 
the  elegy,  the  dramatic  lyric,  the  liturgic 
lyric,  the  didactic  and  philosophic  lyric. 
It  is  the  union  of  them  all  that  makes  the 
Psalter  the  most  remarkable  collection  of 
lyrics  the  world  has  known. 

"0  Lord,  Thou  hast  searched  me  and  known 
me: 

37 


Thou  knowest  my  downsitting  and  mine  up- 
rising, 

Thou  understandest  my  thought  afar  off! 

Thou  searchest  out  my  path  and  my  lying 
down, 

And  art  acquainted  with  all  my  ways. 

For  there  is  not  a  word  in  my  tongue, 

But  lo,  O  Lord,  Thou  knowest  it  altogether. 

Thou  hast  beset  me  behind  and  before, 

And  laid  Thine  hand  upon  me! 

Such  knowledge  is  too  wonderful  for  me ; 

It  is  high,  I  cannot  attain  unto  it!" 

Most  remarkable,  however,  it  is  that  the 
Psalter  not  only  reflects  the  mood  of  the 
poets  that  contributed  to  it  their  treasures. 
It  also  seems  to  reflect  the  mood  of  the 
man  and  the  woman  reading  it  today. 
Somehow  those  poets  seem  to  have  voiced 
the  very  needs  of  our  own  souls,  the  very 
yearnings  of  our  own  hearts,  our  own  spir- 
itual demands  and  hopes.  That  is  what 
gives  permanence  to  this  poetry  of  the 
Psalms  and  endows  it  with  beauty  unfad- 
ing. "About  the  best  poetry,"  Professor 
Bradley  has  said  in  his  Oxford  Lectures 
on  Poetry,  "there  floats  an  atmosphere  of 
infinite  suggestion".  There  is  the  secret 
of  all  great  poetry,  of  all  great  art:  "the 
atmosphere  of  infinite  suggestion."  It  is 
38 


the  secret  of  their  fertility  and  perma- 
nence. The  Psalms  belong  to  that  class. 
They  depict  the  soul  of  the  past,  but  also 
of  the  present.  They  mirror  the  soul-life 
of  every  reader,  and  herein  lies  a  good 
deal  of  their  force  and  fascination. 


39 


Ill 

THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  PSALMS 

WE  have  heard  a  great  deal  of  late 
about  the  kinship  of  Poetry  and  Re- 
ligion. "The  strongest  part  of  our 
religion  today  is  its  unconscious  poetry." 
As  far  back  as  1880,  Matthew  Arnold 
wrote  these  memorable  words.  There 
was  an  unconscious  poetry  in  the  religion 
of  his  day,  as  there  is  in  that  of  every  age, 
and  that  was  its  strongest  part.  This  ut- 
terance of  Arnold's  has  been  cited  often, 
and  has  stimulated  discussion  of  the  rela- 
tionship of  religion  and  poetry.  Professor 
Santayana  has  even  written  a  book  about 
it.  Mr.  Noyes  has  developed  it  in  the  in- 
troduction to  his  Anthology  of  Poetry. 
Indeed,  there  seems  to  be  unanimous  feel- 
ing at  present  that  the  best  part  of  religion 
is  its  unconscious  poetry  and  that  the  best 
part  of  poetry  is  its  unconscious  religion. 

No  anthology  of  poetry  has  ever  sur- 
passed the  Psalms,  either  for  beauty  of 
expression,  or  depth  and  variety  of  emo- 
tion. It  is  natural,  therefore,  to  find  in 

41 


it  the  classical  utterance  on  the  identity 
of  poetry  and  religion.  It  is  found  in  the 
119th  Psalm.  "Songs  Thy  statutes  have 
been  to  me  in  the  house  of  my  pilgrim- 
age !"  Religion  was  song  to  the  Psalmist 
amid  the  vicissitudes  and  uncertainties  of 
life.  It  was  the  poetry  of  his  life. 

It  is  interesting  to  inquire  what  sort  of 
religion  we  find  in  the  Psalms.  If  all 
poetry  contains  unconscious  religion,  in 
the  Psalms  we  shall  find  not  only  uncon- 
scious religion,  but  conscious  religion, 
though  it  is  so  much  part  of  the  poet  and 
his  life,  that  it  becomes  unconscious  with 
him. 

That  is  why  it  would  seem  wrong  to  try 
to  discuss  the  theology  of  the  Psalms. 
Such  attempts  are  made  now  and  then, 
particularly  by  men  who  try  to  prove  the 
existence  of  certain  dogmas  in  the  Psalms. 
Theology  is  a  great  science,  and  I  don't 
belong  to  those  that  cheaply  scorn  it.  But 
it  is  a  science.  Theology  is  the  science  of 
religion.  It  depends  upon  analysis,  argu- 
ment, and  system.  None  of  these  features 
are  part  of  Poetry.  You  do  not  find  them 
in  the  Psalms.  What  you  find  in  them  is 

42 


Religion,  not  theology — the  expression  of 
the  religious  ideal  and  emotion,  not  in- 
vestigation and  systematic  presentation. 

It  is  religion  at  work  that  you  see  in  the 
Psalms — as  a  force  in  the  life,  in  the  heart, 
in  the  conduct  of  the  various  poets.  "The 
office  of  poetry,"  G.  H.  Lewes  has  said, 
"is  not  moral  instruction,  but  moral  emu- 
lation; not  doctrine,  but  inspiration." 
That  is  true  of  the  religion  of  the  Psalms. 
It  is  lyrical,  not  didactic.  "The  Psalms  are 
the  response  of  the  human  heart  to  God." 

There  are  two  aspects  to  the  religion  of 
the  Psalmists,  as  indeed  to  that  of  every 
religious  person.  One  is  conduct.  The 
other  is  temper,  or  attitude.  Matthew 
Arnold  has  said  that  conduct  is  three- 
fourths  of  life;  and  this  dictum  has  be- 
come a  modern  religious  dogma.  There 
are  those  who  would  even  have  us  be- 
lieve that  religion  is  all  conduct.  This 
may  be  true,  provided  conduct  means 
enough,  is  a  comprehensive  enough  word. 
But  conduct  often  means  only  outward  be- 
havior, conformity  with  set  rules,  a  con- 
ventional life.  In  that  case  it  can  hardly 
be  called  the  best  part  of  religion.  In  its 

43 


best  sense,  Religion  means  both  conduct 
and  an  attitude  of  mind,  a  certain  attitude 
to  the  world,  a  certain  temper,  a  spiritual 
disposition.  Inspired  by  the  latter,  con- 
duct will  mean  more  than  where  it  repre- 
sents a  mere  regard  for  decency  and  for 
common  regulations  or  standards. 

Both  these  aspects  are  found  in  the  re- 
ligion of  the  Psalms. 

First,  there  is  the  religion  of  conduct. 
In  the  Psalms  we  find  the  results  of  the 
best  ethical  teachings  of  Israel.  Right- 
eousness is  the  condition  and  expression  of 
godliness,  and  righteousness  means  ethi- 
cal action  in  all  relations  of  life:  purity, 
uprightness,  honesty,  regard  for  others, 
neighborliness.  Righteousness  is  de- 
manded of  the  community  and  the  indi- 
vidual, and  the  higher  the  individual,  the 
more  unquestionable  his  devotion  to  right- 
eousness must  be.  The  king  shall  rule 
through  righteousness.  All  this  is  ex- 
pressed not  in  didactic  form,  but  in  lyri- 
cal: through  the  joy  and  happiness  and 
security  that  the  poet  finds  in  the  life  of 
righteousness. 

"Lord  who  shall  sojourn  in  Thy  tabernacle? 
Who  shall  dwell  in  Thy  holy  hill? 

44 


He   that   walketh   uprightly,   and   worketh 

righteousness, 
And  speaketh  truth  in  his  heart." 

No  nobler  lyric  of  the  upright  life,  of 
godly  conduct,  has  ever  been  written,  nor 
of  faith  in  its  durableness. 

"He  that  doeth  these  things  shall  never  be 
moved!" 

But  even  more  important  than  conduct, 
is  the  side  of  the  Psalmists'  religion  that 
shows  their  religious  temper  of  mind, 
their  attitude  to  life  and  the  world.  That 
is  the  part  of  religion  we  seek  particularly 
in  the  poets.  It  is  the  finer  side  of  religion, 
its  very  breath.  It  is  the  eternal  part  of 
religion,  remaining  the  same,  however 
outward  conduct  may  change.  It  is  this 
side  of  religion  that  has  made  the  Psalms 
so  immortal  a  work  of  religious  poetry. 

"O  ye  sons  of  men, 
How  long  shall  my  glory  be  turned  into 

dishonor? 
How  long  will  ye  love  vanity  and  seek  after 

falsehood? 
But  know 
That  the  Lord  hath  set  apart  him  that  is 

godly  for  Himself: 

The  Lord  will  hear  when  I  call  unto  Him! 
45 


Many  there  be  that  say,  Who  will  show  us 
any  good? 

Lord,  lift  Thou  up  the  light  of  Thy  counte- 
nance upon  us! 

Thou  hast  put  gladness  in  my  heart, 

More  than  they  have  when  their  corn  and 
their  wine  are  increased. 

In  peace  will  I  both  lay  me  down  and  sleep : 
For  Thou,  Lord,  alone  makest  me  dwell  in 
safety!" 

What  are  the  chief  elements  in  the  re- 
ligious temper  of  the  Psalmists?  It  seems 
to  me,  there  are  four.  First,  trust; 
then,  joy ;  then,  humility,  and  finally,  wor- 
ship. These  four  elements  blended  to- 
gether make  the  religious  temper  of  the 
Psalmists. 

First,  trust.  The  sense  of  trust  we  find 
on  every  page  of  the  Psalter.  It  is  part 
of  faith  in  God.  The  Psalmist  believes 
in  God,  and  doing  so,  he  trusts  Him,  no 
matter  what  the  circumstances  or  sur- 
prises of  life.  A  righteous  God  must 
mean  a  righteous  world,  and  it  must  mean 
ultimate  triumph  for  the  cause  of  the 
righteous.  This  conviction  is  voiced  in 
the  unshakable  trust  which  is  the  founda- 
tion of  the  Psalmist's  religion.  It  is  voiced 

46 


also  in  those  violent  utterances  against 
the  unrighteous,  which  so  many  modern 
readers  find  difficult  and  objectionable. 
These  utterances  are  not  inspired  chiefly 
by  hate  and  vengefulness.  They  are  in- 
spired by  the  conviction  that  what  is  un- 
righteous cannot  endure  and  that  its  per- 
petrators and  protagonists  must  surely 
perish. 

"For  the  Lord  is  righteous;  He  loveth  right- 
eousness : 
The  upright  shall  behold  His  face." 

Trust  leads  to  joy.  It  is  impossible  for 
one  ruled  by  such  convictions  of  the  sta- 
bility and  triumph  of  righteousness  ever 
to  despair.  He  may  have  moments  of  de- 
pression, of  sadness,  of  doubt :  pessimistic 
moments;  but  his  spirit  must  rebound  to- 
ward joy.  Trust  is  prophetic.  It  goes  be- 
yond the  failures  of  the  moment  to  the 
vindications  and  the  victories  of  the  mor- 
row. It  clings  to  the  future.  That  is  why 
joy  throbs  so  mightily  in  the  songs  of  the 
Psalmists.  'Weeping  may  tarry  for  a 
night,  but  joy  cometh  in  the  morning." 
"Light  is  sown  for  the  righteous,  and  joy 
for  the  upright  in  heart !"  "They  that  sow 
in  tears  shall  reap  in  joy!"  Joy  cometh 

47 


— light  is  sown — they  shall  reap  in  joy: 
it  is  the  vision  of  the  happy  future  that 
makes  for  the  joy  of  the  Psalmists. 

"Many  sorrows  shall  be  to  the  wicked : 
But  mercy  shall  compass  him  that  trusteth 

in  the  Lord. 
Be    glad    in    the    Lord,    and    rejoice,    ye 

righteous : 
And  shout  for  joy,  all  ye  that  are  upright  in 

heart!" 

What  makes  such  joy  possible  is  an- 
other characteristic  of  the  Psalmist:  his 
humility.  He  is  content  to  accept  the  de- 
fects of  the  present  and  yet  look  joyously 
to  the  future,  because  he  is  humble.  He 
knows  that  the  world  was  not  made  for 
him  solely.  He  realizes  that  he  cannot 
know  everything.  He  understands  that 
there  are  many  things  too  high  for  him. 
He  quiets  his  soul,  as  a  weaned  child  is 
quieted  by  its  mother.  It  reconciles  him 
to  life,  and  makes  endurance  possible. 
Humility  helps  him  over  the  rough  places 
of  life. 

It  is  because  of  humility  that  he  is  fit 
for  another  phase  of  the  religious  life,  a 
phase  without  which  there  can  be  no  re- 
ligion, namely  worship.  Worship  means 

48 


adoration,  the  recognition  of  the  grandeur 
of  the  world,  the  soul's  discovery  of  the 
wonder  of  God,  life,  and  the  universe. 
There  is  no  religion  where  worship  is  not. 
Worship  is  the  soul  of  religion,  it  is  the 
soul  of  all  art  and  beauty.  Philanthropy 
is  not  the  all  in  all  of  religion,  though  it 
may  be  part  of  it.  Worship  is  the  begin- 
ning and  the  end  of  religion.  The  Psalm- 
ists are  full  of  the  sense  of  worship,  and 
that  is  why  their  poetry  is  the  greatest  re- 
ligious poetry  ever  written. 

"Poetry  will  return  with  religion,"  Mr. 
Bliss  Carman  writes  in  his  essay  on  "A 
Distaste  for  Poetry."  Distaste  for  poetry 
and  for  religion  is  one  very  often.  Mr. 
Carman  would  have  us  see  in  the  con- 
temporary distaste  for  poetry  a  sign  of 
the  same  tendency  that  is  found  in  the  dis- 
taste for  religion.  True  lovers  of  Poetry 
and  Religion  have  always  loved  the 
Psalms.  In  them  the  noblest  religion  has 
found  most  beautiful  utterance.  They 
offer  more  than  any  other  work  what  Mr. 
Carman  has  called  the  good  part  of 
poetry,  as  of  life,  that  "which  stimulates 
the  spirit  and  renews  its  zest,  its  strength, 
its  fortitude." 

49 


IV 
MYSTICISM  IN  THE  PSALMS 

ONE  of  the  most  noteworthy  character- 
istics of  the  spiritual  life  of  the  pres- 
ent is  the  revival  of  interest  in  mysti- 
cism.   For  centuries  no  such  phenomenon 
has  been  witnessed.    Present-day  interest 
in  mysticism  is  exhibited  in  the  various  de- 
partments of  thought  and  life,  while  the 
number  of  books  on  the  subject  is  alto- 
gether unprecedented.    Every  country  is 
represented,  as  well  as  every  religion. 

A  recent  writer  has  said  quite  justly  that 
there  are  two  classes  of  people  interested 
in  mysticism — those  that  are  curious 
about  the  history  of  the  mystical  element 
in  human  thought  and  those  who  really 
live,  or  wish  to  live,  the  mystical  life.  It 
is  either  an  intellectual  or  a  devout  in- 
terest. Whatever  the  cause,  however,  the 
mystical  wave  in  modern  thought  is  one 
of  the  most  striking  phenomena  in  the 
spiritual  life  of  today. 

One  cannot  study  the  diverse  beauties 
of  the  Psalms  without  being  impressed 
51 


with  the  note  of  mysticism  that  pervades 
them.  Modern  writers,  in  speaking  of  the 
literature  of  the  mystics,  do  not  always 
recall  this  fact.  In  reality,  however,  the 
Psalms  maybe  designated  as  the  chief 
classic  of  religious  mysticism.  "We  un- 
derstand the  Psalms  in  many  places  but 
half-way,"  a  German  writer  has  said,  "if 
we  regard  their  authors  as  ordinary  re- 
ligious men.  Some  of  the  Psalmists  were 
mystics,  pietists,  who  had  an  altogether 
immediate  relation  with  God." 

The  mystics  of  old  recognized  it,  as  is 
witnessed  by  their  use  of  the  Psalms,  and 
their  constant  reference  to  them.  It  is 
certain  that  as  far  as  the  purest  form  of 
religious  mysticism  is  concerned — mysti- 
cism pure  and  undefiled — the  expression 
it  finds  in  the  Psalms  has  never  been  sur- 
passed— in  originality  or  beauty.  What- 
ever later  mystics  have  written  is  either 
an  amplification  or  variation  of  what  is 
contained  in  the  Psalms.  And  for  good 
reasons. 

For,  what  is  mysticism  ?    Like  all  popu- 
lar words,  its  meaning  is  rather  vague  to 
most  people.    Its  definitions  are  numer- 
ous.   Yet,  what  is  it? 
52 


Let  us  remember,  first  of  all,  that  it  re- 
fers to  a  type  of  religion.  It  may  be  used 
occasionally  apart  from  religion;  for  in- 
stance, to  designate  a  kind  of  art,  or 
poetry,  or  even  ethics.  "Mysticism  is  the 
art  of  union  with  Reality,"  says  Miss 
Underbill.  But  this  is  a  loose  use  of  the 
term,  a  pale  definition.  Essentially,  mys- 
ticism is  a  type  of  religion.  Even  when 
applied  to  literature  or  art  or  ethics,  it 
carries,  however  subtly,  a  religious  sug- 
gestion. 

What  kind  of  religion,  then,  is  mysti- 
cism? Mr.  Rufus  M.  Jones,  who  has  writ- 
ten much  on  the  subject,  defines  it  as  fol- 
lows: "Mysticism  is  the  type  of  religion 
which  puts  emphasis  on  immediate  aware- 
ness of  relation  with  God,  on  direct  and 
intimate  consciousness  of  the  Divine  Pres- 
ence." On  the  whole,  this  is  as  good  a 
definition  as  we  have.  Mysticism  is  the 
immediate  consciousness  of  God,  the  di- 
rect experience  of  religious  truth,  the  per- 
sonal perception  of  the  beauty  and  reality 
of  the  spiritual  world,  the  attachment  of 
the  human  soul  to  the  Soul  of  the  universe. 

This  is  what  differentiates  mysticism 
from  other  forms  of  religion :  from  those 

53 


which  depend  on  argumentation  or  rea- 
soning. And  this  is  why  in  the  course  of 
history  we  often  encounter  a  mystic  wave 
after  a  period  of  emphasis  on  the  intel- 
lectual or  rational  side  of  religion.  Men 
have  invariably  tired  of  the  attempt  to 
uphold  or  crush  religion  with  weapons  of 
the  intellect,  of  reason,  philosophy,  or  sci- 
ence. Always  there  has  been  a  recession 
to  personal,  direct,  spontaneous — intuitive 
— religion:  to  mystic  religion.  This  is 
what  time  and  again  has  happened  in 
Christianity,  as  well  as  in  Judaism  and 
every  other  faith.  Weary  of  rationalism, 
the  world  has  returned  to  mysticism.  And 
this  is  what  is  happening  today,  by  way  of 
reaction  from  the  over-confidence  and 
over-emphasis  of  science  in  the  past  cen- 
tury. "Mysticism,"  says  Goethe,  "is  the 
scholastic  of  the  heart,  the  dialectic  of  the 
feelings."  Or,  as  Pascal  has  it,  "The  heart 
has  its  reasons  which  reason  knows  noth- 
ing of."  The  religion  of  the  heart  is 
mysticism. 

If  this  be  mysticism,  the  Psalms  are  full 
of  it,  in  its  purest,  most  genuine,  and  most 
undefiled  form.  Unfortunately,  a  great 

54 


deal  has  passed  for  mysticism  that  is 
hardly  worthy  the  name ;  that,  indeed,  has 
made  mysticism  a  by-word.  It  has  often 
been  identified  with  magic,  with  traffic  in 
the  occult,  with  various  spiritual  extrava- 
gances and  aberrations.  Charlatanism 
ofttimes  has  worn  its  cloak.  This  is  false 
mysticism,  from  which  it  is  necessary  to 
distinguish  the  pure  and  genuine  type. 

Of  such  false  mysticism  we  find  not  a 
trace  in  the  Psalter.  Its  mysticism  is  pure, 
original,  springing  from  the  unpolluted 
fountain-head  of  mystic  emotion.  It  is 
free  from  aberration.  It  has  none  of  the 
corruption  of  the  ancient  Orient,  nor  of 
the  later  mystical  follies  of  the  Occident. 
The  type  of  spiritual  mysticism  exalted  by 
the  best  of  the  moderns — this  is  what  we 
find  in  the  Psalms:  mysticism  pure  and 
undefiled. 

What  are  some  of  its  elements?  What 
forms  the  mysticism  of  the  Psalmists?  It 
would  be  interesting  to  compare  what 
some  modern  writers  have  to  say  about 
the  nature  of  the  mystical  life.  One  says 
it  means  faith  in  God,  in  the  goodness  and 
significance  of  life,  and  in  immortality. 
Another  identifies  it  with  various  degrees 
55 


of  contemplation.  And  so  on.  What 
formed  the  mysticism  of  the  Psalmists?  I 
shall  name  the  following  elements:  En- 
lightenment, yearning,  the  sense  of  the 
Divine  Presence,  and  the  joy  of  it  all. 

First,  enlightenment.  The  mystic  is  the 
person  who  possesses  spiritual  illumina- 
tion. Where  others  grope  in  the  dark, 
struggle  and  stumble,  he  sees — sees 
clearly,  by  virtue  of  an  inner  light.  He 
possesses  certitude,  the  kind  that,  accord- 
ing to  Boutroux,  formed  the  religion  of 
Pascal:  'The  certitude  of  feeling  and 
heart,  immediate  and  absolute;  the  kind 
that  comes  from  sight  and  not  from  rea- 
son" (Celle  qui  vient  de  la  vue  non  du 
raisonnement).  "It  lies  around  US  like 
a  cloud,"  says  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe : 

"It  lies  around  us  like  a  cloud — 
A  world  we  do  not  see; 
Yet  the  sweet  closing  of  an  eye 
May  bring  us  there  to  be." 

Is  not  this  what  the  very  word  mystic 
means?  It  comes  from  a  Greek  word, 
meaning  to  close  one's  eyes.  The  mystic, 
we  are  told,  is  one  who  closes  the  avenue 
of  sense,  not  in  order  to  be  in  darkness, 
but  that  the  divine  light  may  flow  in  upon 

56 


his  inner  sight  and  enlighten  him. 
"Lovers,"  says  Patmore,  "put  out  the  can- 
dle and  draw  the  curtains  when  they  wish 
to  see  the  god  and  the  goddess,  and  in 
the  higher  communion,  the  night  of 
thought  is  the  light  of  perception."  "The 
soul,"  an  ancient  mystic  has  said,  "pos- 
sesses a  secret  avenue  to  the  divine  nature, 
where  all  things  become  naught  for  it." 
This  is  what  makes  for  the  religious  cer- 
tainty of  the  mystic,  where  others  find  dif- 
ficulty and  obstacle.  He  sees  in  the  dark, 
in  the  remote  distance,  in  the  dust: — 
everywhere  he  beholds  the  light  and  glory 
divine.  Nowhere  do  we  find  more  evi- 
dence of  such  enlightenment  than  in  the 
Psalms.  "The  Lord  is  my  light  and  my 
salvation."  "Light  is  sown  for  the  right- 
eous!" "In  Thy  light  shall  we  see  light." 
Others  may  doubt  and  walk  in  darkness; 
the  Psalmist  sees  light,  and  sees  it  clearly. 
The  reason  why  he  sees  this  light,  is 
that  he  yearns  for  it.  It  has  been  said 
that  mysticism  is  "religion  in  its  most  in- 
tense, acute,  and  living  stage."  This  is 
the  sort  of  religion  we  find  in  the  Psalm- 
ists. They  yearn  for  God ;  therefore,  His 
light  is  granted  them. 

57 


Yearning  is  the  beginning  of  spiritual 
life,  of  all  possession  of  beauty  and  holi- 
ness. Where  there  is  no  yearning,  naught 
happens.  One  of  the  greatest  mytsics  was 
Master  Eckhart.  According  to  him,  the 
object  of  all  religion  is  "that  God  might 
be  born  in  the  soul  and  the  soul  in  God : 
for  this  all  the  Scriptures  were  written,  for 
this  God  created  the  whole  world:  in 
order  that  God  might  be  born  in  the  soul 
and  the  soul  in  God."  If  this  does  not 
happen  in  your  case,  he  says,  he  is  sorry 
for  you.  But  even  more  sorry  he  is  for 
you  if  you  do  not  yearn  for  it.  Even 
though  you  cannot  have  such  an  experi- 
ence, you  may  at  least  feel  a  yearning  for 
it.  And  if  one  lacks  the  yearning,  one 
at  least  should  yearn  for  the  yearning. 
As  David  puts  it :  "I  have  yearnt  a  yearn- 
ing, 0  Lord,  for  Thy  righteousness!" 

This  sort  of  craving  for  God  we  find  in 
the  Psalter;  on  every  page  of  it.  Master 
Eckhart  said:  "May  God  help  us  so  to 
yearn  for  God  that  He  Himself  may  seek 
to  be  born  within  us!"  There  are  many 
such  utterances  in  the  Psalms.  The 
Psalmists  crave  for  God,  they  seek  Him, 
they  look  for  Him,  they  surrender  them- 

58 


selves  to  Him,  and  constantly  pray  that 
He  may  come  to  them,  and  find  them,  and 
search  them — search  them  to  their  inmost 
parts,  and  possess  them.  "Mine  eyes 
yearn  for  Thy  salvation,  and  for  the  word 
of  Thy  righteousness!"  "I  will  behave 
myself  wisely  in  a  perfect  way.  0,  when 
wilt  Thou  come  unto  me?"  "As  the  hart 
panteth  after  the  water  brooks,  so  panteth 
my  soul  after  Thee,  0  God.  My  soul 
thirsteth  for  God,  for  the  living  God: 
when  shall  I  come  and  appear  before 
God?" 

"Search  me,  O  God,  and  know  my  heart: 
Try  me,  and  know  my  thoughts: 
And  see  if  there  be  any  way  of  wickedness 

in  me, 
And  lead  me  in  the  way  everlasting." 

It  is  such  yearning  that  forms  the  source 
of  the  Psalmist's  religion. 

From  it  comes  his  satisfaction,  also.  He 
feels  the  presence  of  God.  The  reason 
why  so  many  do  not  feel  that  presence  is 
that  they  do  not  want  it,  do  not  seek  it. 
Master  Eckhart  has  said  that  a  poor  man 
is  he  who  wants  nothing,  knows  nothing, 
and  has  nothing.  The  reason  why  some 
do  not  have  God,  nor  know  Him,  is  that 
59 


they  do  not  want  Him.  "As  our  aspira- 
tion is,"  says  A.  E.,  "so  will  be  our  inspira- 
tion and  power."  The  Psalmist  wants 
God;  therefore,  he  knows  Him.  "The 
secret  of  the  Lord  is  to  them  that  fear 
Him."  "Taste  and  see  that  the  Lord  is 
good."  "The  Lord  is  good  to  the  good 
and  to  those  who  are  upright  of  heart!" 
Living  a  godly,  a  pure,  a  noble  life,  the 
Psalmist  is  conscious  everywhere  of  the 
Divine  Presence.  Nay,  more.  He  feels 
not  only  the  presence  of  God,  but  His 
unescapable  presence.  Nothing  can  sepa- 
rate him  from  God.  God  is  everywhere. 
Not  even  sin  can  set  him  apart  from  God. 
He  cannot  flee  from  Him.  In  Thomp- 
son's bold  metaphor:  he  cannot  escape 
the  Hound  of  Heaven.  The  Divine  Pres- 
ence pursues  Him.  It  is  everywhere. 
He  cannot  elude  it.  He  cannot  miss  it. 
The  universe  is  full  of  God. 

"Whither  shall  I  go  from  Thy  spirit? 
Or  whither  shall  I  flee  from  Thy  presence?" 

This  possession  of  God  makes  for  the 

Psalmist's  joy.     What  are  the  material 

compensations  of  the  world  in  comparison 

with  the  feeling  that  he  is  at  one  with 

60 


God,  that  God  is  with  him  everywhere? 
Greater  is  his  joy  than  have  "they" — 
the  others — when  their  corn  and  wine  are 
increased.  From  this  sense  of  joy,  some 
of  the  most  beautiful  Psalms  have  sprung. 

"A  work  can  never  grow  old,"  says 
Maeterlinck,  himself  one  of  the  chief  mys- 
tics of  today,  "except  in  proportion  to 
its  anti-mysticism."  There  are  many 
beauties  that  have  kept  the  Psalms  from 
growing  old.  But  nothing  so  much  as  the 
mystic  beauty  that  pervades  their  poetry 
and  finds  a  response  in  every  heart. 


61 


V 
THE  PSALMS  OF  PENSIVE  DOUBT 

«npHE  lyric,"  says  Professor  Moulton, 
A  "is  the  confidante  of  the  human  soul 
in  all  its  needs."  There  is  hardly  a 
lyric  poet  whose  mood  is  always  the  same, 
who  always  sings  in  the  same  key.  It  is 
natural  to  find  in  the  Psalms  a  variety  of 
moods,  particularly  when  we  recall  that 
the  Psalms  contain  the  songs  of  different 
poets  of  many  ages.  Many  moods  are 
mirrored  in  the  Psalms,  and  that  is  one  of 
the  secrets  of  their  fascination. 

Doubt  is  one  mood  expressed  in  the 
Psalms.  And  herein  these  poets  of  the 
Bible  strike  one  of  their  most  universal 
notes.  They  thus  mark  their  kinship  to 
all  humanity.  For  what  sentiment,  what 
condition,  is  so  universal  as  the  one  of 
doubt,  of  wonder,  of  questioning?  To 
think  is  to  doubt;  to  doubt  is  to  think. 
Doubt  means  reflection,  and  reflection  is 
the  fountainhead  of  philosophy.  "He 
never  truly  believed,"  says  an  old  divine, 
quoted  by  Coleridge,  "who  was  not  made 
first  sensible  and  convinced  of  unbelief." 

63 


Of  course,  there  are  two  kinds  of  doubt. 
There  is  the  doubt  of  the  indifferent  and 
the  callous — of  the  fool  and  the  vain- 
glorious, as  the  Psalmist  might  have  called 
them — and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  doubt 
of  the  true  believer,  of  the  earnest  seeker 
of  truth.  The  latter  form  of  doubt  is  the 
more  poignant,  the  more  distressing,  just 
because  it  means  a  clash  with  faith, 
breaking  in  upon  the  serenity  and  assur- 
ance of  faith,  and  trying  the  inmost  heart 
of  the  faithful. 

In  the  case  of  the  Psalmist,  of  no  mat- 
ter what  group  or  age,  there  never  can  be 
the  least  question  as  to  his  godliness.  He 
believes  in  God,  clings  to  Him,  believes 
in  the  goodness  and  rightness  of  the  Di- 
vine Plan,  and  he  means  to  order  his  life 
in  harmony  with  such  belief.  Little  pa- 
tience has  he  with  the  scornful,  the  god- 
less, "the  fool  that  saith  in  his  heart,  There 
is  no  God."  Atheism  marks  for  him  the 
abyss  of  folly,  as  does  also  the  iniquitous 
life,  which  is  the  practical  expression  and 
sequel  of  atheism.  He  is  just  as  con- 
vinced as  are  many  modern  thinkers  that 
atheism  is  a  menace  to  morality:  Mr. 
Balfour,  in  his  defense  of  theism,  does 

64 


not  go  beyond  the  Psalmist  in  this  respect. 

"The  fool  hath  said  in  his  heart, 

There  is  no  God!' 
They  are  corrupt,  they  have  done 

Abominable  works; 
There  is  none  that  doeth  good." 

Yet  there  are  times  when  the  very  foun- 
dations of  the  Psalmist's  faith  are  shaken 
by  actual  experience — by  what  happens 
to  him,  or  in  the  world  at  large — and  that 
is  what  opens  the  door  to  doubt;  not  the 
doubt  of  the  proud  and  scornful,  not  arro- 
gant doubt,  but  pensive  doubt,  the  doubt 
of  the  wounded  and  baffled,  though  faith- 
ful, soul. 

What  is  it  that  gives  rise  to  such  a  state 
of  mind  in  the  Psalmist? 

First,  the  Psalmist's  own  fate  is  often 
the  cause.  There  are  times  when  he  finds 
it  hard  to  reconcile  his  condition  in  life 
with  his  conduct  and  the  faith  that  in- 
spired it. 

The  Psalmist  has  tried  to  live  a  godly 
life.  His  chief  concern  has  been  to  live 
uprightly,  to  find  favor  with  God,  and  to 
purge  his  life  and  thought  of  every  trace 
of  ungodliness.  If  he  has  failed,  it  was 
65 


not  for  lack  of  the  right  mind  or  purpose, 
nor  is  failure  unf ollowed  by  penitence  and 
the  desire  to  mend.  His  whole  aim  is  to 
be  in  accord  with  the  Divine  Will. 

According  to  the  faith  of  the  Psalmist, 
such  conduct  is  supposed  to  win  Divine 
approval  and  to  bring  joy  and  happiness. 
His  theory  of  Religion  has  it  that  godli- 
ness is  rewarded  with  prosperity  and  hap- 
piness, while  wickedness  leads  to  ruin. 
Yet,  in  actual  life,  quite  the  contrary  often 
occurs.  The  Psalmist,  though  devoted  to 
godliness,  is  far  from  prosperous.  On  the 
contrary,  he  has  to  endure  hardship,  op- 
pression, poverty,  and  illness,  while  hap- 
piness, wealth  and  health,  prosperity 
forms  the  lot  of  his  enemies  and  persecu- 
tors, who  have  mocked  morality  and 
laughed  godliness  to  scorn. 

Such  occurrences  the  Psalmist  cannot 
witness  without  injury  to  his  faith,  with- 
out deep  doubt  arising  in  his  mind  as  to 
the  meaning  and  worth  of  his  theory  of 
life. 

"Why  standest  Thou  afar  off,  O  Lord? 
Why    hidest    Thou    Thyself    in    times    of 
trouble? 

66 


Wherefore  doth  the  wicked  contemn  God, 
And  say  in  his  heart,  Thou  wilt  not  require 
it?" 

Some  of  the  most  poignant  Psalms  have 
their  origin  in  such  experience. 

But  there  is,  also,  the  experience  of  the 
Psalmist's  people,  of  Israel. 

Some  of  the  Psalms  were  written  dur- 
ing Israel's  days  of  prosperity,  and  the 
mood  pervading  them  is  one  of  joy  and 
triumph,  even  of  defiance,  inspired  by 
consciousness  of  Divine  choice  and  love, 
of  Divine  distinction.  Other  Psalms,  how- 
ever, came  from  other  times.  Israel  is  no 
longer  triumphant.  The  people  has  been 
overwhelmed  by  calamity,  the  heathen 
have  entered  the  Temple,  the  Holy  City 
is  laid  waste,  the  people  is  carried  cap- 
tive to  an  alien  land,  and  there  suffers  all 
manner  of  indignity  and  reproach.  The 
question  has  arisen  as  to  what  had  become 
of  God's  love  for  Israel.  Is  Israel  still 
His  people,  is  there  still  a  great  purpose 
and  future  in  store  for  it?  And,  if  so, 
why  are  so  many  trials  laid  upon  it,  and 
why  is  its  lot  so  much  worse  than  the  lot 
of  its  foes? 
"O  God,  why  hast  Thou  cast  us  off  for  ever? 

67 


Why  doth  Thine  anger  smoke  against 
the  sheep  of  Thy  pasture? 

How  long,  O  God,  shall  the  adversary  re- 
proach? 

Shall  the  enemy  blaspheme  Thy  name  for 
ever?" 

It  is  easy  to  see  what  agony  the  suffer- 
ing of  Israel  must  have  caused  to  the  poets 
of  the  period — what  anguish  of  mind, 
what  doubt,  particularly  when  they  con- 
trasted the  sad  plight  of  the  present  with 
the  storied  glories  of  the  past.  And  this 
anguish  is  rendered  the  more  intense  and 
keen  by  the  spectacle  of  some  Jews  who, 
made  disloyal  by  the  new  conditions,  seem 
to  fare  much  better  than  those  who  are 
still  loyal,  though  mocked  and  persecuted 
for  their  faith.  Brooding  on  the  fate  of 
his  people,  and  particularly  of  the  more 
devoted  and  faithful  part  of  it,  could  not 
but  engender  doubt  in  the  heart  of  the 
Psalmist. 

No  less  calculated  to  create  such  a  mood 
are  those  moments  when  the  Psalmist 
falls  to  thinking  about  the  lot  not  only 
of  his  people,  but  of  all  humanity. 

If  the  fate  of  his  people  often  has  puz- 
68 


zled  him,  if  his  personal  life  has  made 
him  wonder,  what  of  the  life  of  man?  Is 
not  human  life  in  general  a  thing  to  make 
one  question  and  wonder? 

Psalmists  were  naturally  led  from  one 
phase  of  doubt  to  the  next.  They  were 
the  pioneers  of  religious  reflection.  Once 
the  theory  of  their  faith  seemed  shaken 
by  their  own  personal  life,  it  was  natural 
for  the  doubt  to  spread,  to  reach  out  to 
others,  to  embrace  finally  the  whole  of 
human  life,  the  whole  race  of  men. 

What  makes  them  doubt  is  the  brevity, 
the  shadowiness,  the  futility  of  the  very 
life  of  man.  "What  is  man,  0  Lord,  that 
Thou  knowest  him :  or  the  son  of  man  that 
Thou  countest  him?"  Amid  the  magnifi- 
cent objects  of  the  rest  of  Creation,  amid 
the  everlasting  mountains  and  unnum- 
bered stars,  of  what  worth  is  mortal  man, 
what  does  the  frail  human  creature  count 
for? 

"Man  is  like  to  vanity: 
His  days  are  as  a  shadow 
That  passeth  away!" 

The  Psalms  born  of  this  phase  of  the 
poet's  doubt,  are  among  the  most  beauti- 
ful and  most  affecting  in  the  book. 

69 


From  these  three  sources  the  muse  of 
the  Psalmists  was  fed  when  in  the  mood 
of  doubt.  The  significant  thing,  however, 
is  the  way  out  of  doubt  found  by  these 
poets.  What  did  it  lead  to?  Did  it  lead 
to  denial  of  God,  to  the  abandonment  of 
faith,  to  despair?  Quite  the  contrary. 

"There  lives  more  faith  in  honest  doubt, 
Than  in  half  the  creeds," 

a  modern  poet  has  said.  The  Psalmists 
were  the  first  to  prove  it.  Doubt  led  not 
to  less  faith  but  to  more — it  led  to  a  purer, 
more  exalted,  more  trustful  form  of  re- 
ligion and  conduct.  I  said  that  the  Psalm- 
ists were  not  ordinary  religious  persons, 
but  mystics,  and  that  we  cannot  under- 
stand them  unless  we  realize  it.  uMys- 
ticism,"  it  has  been  said  rightly,  "is  the 
certainity  that  grows  up  in  the  presence 
of  mystery."  That  is  what  makes  the 
mystic.  In  the  face  of  mystery,  he  is  cer- 
tain. Where  there  is  occasion  for  waver- 
ing, he  is  steadfast.  Where  there  is  peril 
of  collapse,  his  heart  is  firm,  unshakable, 
invincible. 

"How  long,  O  Lord? 
Wilt  Thou  forget  me  for  ever? 

70 


How  long  wilt  Thou  hide  Thy  face  from  me? 
How  long  shall  I  take  counsel  in  my  soul, 
Having  sorrow  in  my  heart  all  the  day? 
How  long  shall  mine  enemy  be  exalted  over 

me? 

Consider  and  answer  me,  O  Lord  my  God : 
Lighten  mine  eyes,  lest  I  sleep  the  sleep  of 

death ! 

But  I  have  trusted  in  Thy  mercy; 
My  heart  shall  rejoice  in  Thy  salvation: 
I  will  sing  unto  the  Lord !" 

Such,  in  effect,  is  the  certainty  and  stead- 
fastness of  the  Psalmists.  Doubt  makes 
them  stronger;  through  it  they  mount  to 
a  faith  more  pure  and  joyous  and  aspirant 
than  ever. 

And  thus  they  became  the  pattern  of 
many  a  later  poet,  as  well  as  the  solace  of 
all  hearts. 


71 


VI 


THE  BEAUTIES  OF  NATURE  IN  THE 
PSALMS 

IT  has  become  a  sort  of  superstition  with 
literary  critics  that  in  Hebrew  poetry 
we  find  no  real  appreciation  of  the 
beauties  of  Nature. 

The  idea  can  be  traced  back  to  a  famous 
passage  in  Alexander  von  Humboldt's 
work,  Cosmos.  In  Hebrew  poetry,  he 
says,  "Nature  is  portrayed,  not  as  self- 
subsisting,  or  glorious  in  her  own  beauty, 
but  ever  in  relation  to  a  higher,  an  over- 
ruling, spiritual  power." 

This  utterance  of  the  great  German  nat- 
uralist gave  rise  to  the  notion  that  in  the 
poetry  of  the  Hebrews  we  find  no  such 
appreciation  of  Nature  as  may  be  found 
in  Greek  and  Roman,  as  well  as  in  modern, 
poetry.  With  the  Hebrew  poets,  con- 
templation of  God  is  supposed  to  have 
prevented  sympathetic  study  and  absorp- 
tion of  the  manifold  beauties  of  Nature. 

This  notion  I  call  a  superstition,  be- 
cause it  is  not  founded  on  fact,  but  rather 

73 


seems  to  have  made  its  way  from  one 
writer  to  the  next,  without  careful  inspec- 
tion. It  is  certainly  unfair  to  deny  to  the 
ancient  Hebrews  love  and  appreciation  of 
the  beauties  of  Nature.  During  certain 
periods  in  their  later  history  there  is  good 
ground  for  believing  that  the  Jews  were 
estranged  from  Nature.  Other  interests 
and  passions  drove  from  their  life  the 
joyous  contemplation  of  Nature.  We 
may  assume  this  to  have  happened  when 
some  rabbis  maintained  that  it  was  a  mor- 
tal sin  to  interrupt  one's  studies  in  order 
to  admire  a  beautiful  tree,  or  a  beautiful 
field.  Such  periods  of  the  decay  of  the 
esthetic  sense,  no  doubt,  have  occurred  in 
the  course  of  Israel's  checkered  history. 
But  this  is  not  true  of  the  Bible  period. 
As  long  as  the  Jews  lived  a  natural  life, 
unthwarted  and  uncorrupted  by  persecu- 
tion, they  were  lovers  of  Nature.  During 
the  earliest  periods  of  their  history  they 
surely  were  alive  to  the  beauties  of  Nature. 
First,  they  lived  the  life  of  shepherds  and 
farmers — a  life  that  cannot  help  leading 
to  contemplation  of  Nature,  and,  in  a  sen- 
sitive people,  to  a  love  of  it.  And,  sec- 
ondly, Palestine  was  a  country  pre-emi- 
74 


nently  designed  to  arouse  and  develop  the 
sense  of  Nature.  For,  Palestine  is  a  land 
of  many  moods  and  colors;  it  is  a  land  of 
mountains  and  valleys,  of  streams  and 
lakes,  a  land  that  within  small  compass 
offers  great  variety  of  scene.  It  is  a  land 
of  "solitary  places."  What  so  calculated 
to  arouse  the  soul  to  the  beauties  of  Na- 
ture, and  to  inspire  love  of  its  mysteries 
and  majesties?  There  are  numerous 
places  in  the  Bible  that  reveal  such  ap- 
preciation of  Nature,  and  they  abound 
particularly  in  the  Psalms. 

To  begin  with,  the  Psalmists  make  fre- 
quent use  of  Nature  imagery. 

One  thing  that  critics  usually  miss  in 
Bible  poetry  is  description  of  detail.  This 
defect  was  first  pointed  out  by  Humboldt. 
"It  dwells  less  on  details  of  phenomena," 
he  said  of  Hebrew  poetry,  "and  loves  to 
contemplate  great  masses."  That  to  him 
was  a  reflex  of  the  monotheism  of  Israel, 
which  was  prone  to  dwell  on  the  unity, 
rather  than  the  variety,  of  the  world's 
phenomena. 

And  there  is  much  truth  in  this  obser- 
vation. The  Jew's  eye  did  fasten  on  the 

75 


unity,  the  all-embracing  majesty,  the  over- 
whelming splendor  of  the  world.  Also, 
upon  the  spirit  that  resided  within  the 
world,  and  behind  all  its  sights  and  scenes, 
no  matter  how  beautiful  and  arresting 
in  themselves.  Always  the  Jew's  eye 
sought  in  and  beyond  and  behind  Nature 
the  one  chief  Reality — Nature's  God. 
That  is  whither  his  eye  travelled,  reached, 
sought — that  is  what  lured  his  soul.  It  is 
the  supreme  truth  about  Hebrew  poetry, 
thought,  and  life. 

But  all  this  did  not  destroy  the  outward 
world  for  the  Jew.  He  saw  it.  He  pon- 
dered over  it.  He  heard  its  manifold  mes- 
sage. And  nowhere  do  we  find  better 
proof  of  this  than  in  the  Nature  imagery 
of  the  Psalms. 

The  similes  and  metaphors  of  the  Psalm- 
ists show  that  these  poets  were  familiar 
observers  of  Nature  and  that  they  spon- 
taneously used  its  scenes  for  the  vivid  ex- 
pression of  ideas.  "The  mountains  are 
round  about  Jerusalem,  and  the  Lord  is 
round  about  His  people."  "Our  soul  is 
escaped  as  a  bird  out  of  the  snare  of  the 
fowlers:  the  snare  is  broken  and  we  are 

76 


escaped."    "Turn  again  our  captivity,  0 
Lord,  as  the  streams  in  the  South." 

Ethical  and  spiritual  truths  are  brought 
home  by  a  striking  picture  or  similitude 
from  Nature.  Take  the  very  first  Psalm : 
the  righteous  man  is  pictured  as  a  tree 
planted  by  a  stream  of  water,  bearing  its 
fruit  in  its  season  and  with  its  leaf  never 
withering ;  on  the  other  hand,  the  wicked 
is  as  the  chaff  blown  away  by  the  wind. 
Here  we  have  perfect  little  scenes  from 
Nature:  we  see  the  tree,  and  its  setting, 
and  we  see  the  chaff  driven  on  by  the 
wind.  And  the  poet  must  have  seen 
these  scenes  and  seen  them  often,  before 
they  became  part  of  his  mental  vision  and 
a  vehicle  of  spiritual  truth. 

Such  Nature  imagery  we  find  in  great 
variety.  What  could  be  more  desolate 
than  the  picture  the  poet  draws  of  his 
estate  in  the  one  hundred-and-second 
Psalm? 

"Hear  my  prayer,  O  Lord, 
And  let  my  cry  come  unto  Thee. 
For  my  days  consume  away  like  smoke, 
And  my  bones  are  burned  as  a  firebrand. 
My  heart  is  smitten  like  grass,  and  withered ; 
For  I  forget  to  eat  my  bread. 

77 


I  am  like  a  pelican  of  the  wilderness ; 
I  am  become  as  an  owl  of  the  waste  places. 
I  watch,  and  am  become 
Like  a  sparrow  that  is  alone  upon  the  house- 
top. 

My  days  are  like  a  shadow  that  declineth : 
And  I  am  withered  like  grass." 

What  a  picture  of  loneliness — a  sparrow 
alone  on  the  housetop ! 

Yet  it  would  be  foolish  to  envy  the 
wicked : 

"Fret  not  thyself  because  of  evil-doers, 
Neither   be   thou   envious  against   the   un- 
righteous : 

For  they  shall  soon  be  cut  down  like  grass, 
And  wither  as  the  green  herb." 

Righteousness,  however,  is  secure : 

"The  righteous  shall  flourish  like  the  palm- 
tree, 
He  shall  grow  like  a  cedar  in  Lebanon." 

And  as  for  the  Divine  Righteousness,  the 
mountains  alone  can  serve  as  its  proper 
image — those  mountains  that  so  often 
serve  as  inspiration  to  the  Prophets  and 
poets  of  Israel : 

"Thy    lovingkindness,    O    Lord,    is    in    the 
heavens, 

78 


Thy  faithfulness  reacheth  unto  the  skies. 
Thy  righteousness  is  like  the  mighty  moun- 
tains, 
Thy  judgments  are  like  the  great  deep!" 

Indeed,  has  the  fusion  of  Nature  and 
Poetry  ever  engendered  a  more  beautiful 
depiction  of  undying  faith  than  the 
twenty-third  Psalm? 

Nor  are  descriptions  of  Nature,  indica- 
tive of  an  appreciation  of  the  grandeur 
and  magnificence  of  Creation,  wanting  in 
the  Psalms.  We  may  have  a  mere  enu- 
meration of  the  various  parts  and  phe- 
nomena of  Nature,  massed  so  as  to  bring 
out  its  variety  and  magnitude.  It  is  true 
that  there  is  no  minute  description.  But 
details  would  have  destroyed  the  massive- 
ness  of  the  picture.  It  is  the  grandeur  of 
Nature  that  is  in  the  mind  of  the  poet,  and 
it  is  best  expressed  by  the  massing  up  of 
scenes.  Attempt  at  detail  would  merely 
have  proven  the  inadequacy  of  poetic 
description. 

Take,  for  example,  the  eighth  Psalm, 
where  the  magnificence  of  Creation  is  sug- 
gested by  the  mere  array  of  its  diverse 
parts:  heaven,  earth,  moon,  stars,  beasts, 
fishes,  waters,  and  all  that  passeth  through 
79 


the  paths  of  the  sea,  and  man  master  of 
it  all,  and  thus  but  little  lower  than  God. 
In  a  few  lines  the  poet  succeeds  in  convey- 
ing the  idea  of  the  manifold  magnificence 
of  Nature. 

Even  more  impressive  is  the  panorama 
of  Nature  in  the  one  hundred-and-fourth 
Psalm,  in  which  the  poet  is  overwhelmed 
with  the  multiple  splendor  and  glory  of 
Nature  and  moved  to  intense  joy  by  the 
contemplation  of  it  all. 

"O  Lord,  how  manifold  are  Thy  works ! 
In  wisdom  hast  Thou  made  them  all : 
The  earth  is  full  of  Thy  riches. 

I  will  sing  unto  the  Lord  as  long  as  I  live : 
I  will  sing  praise  to  my  God  while  I  have 

my  being: 
Let  my  meditation  be  sweet  unto  Him!" 

Again,  Nature  is  often  depicted  in  the 
Psalms  as  sympathizing  with  man  in  his 
various  experiences.  Such  sympathy  of 
Nature  with  man  is  the  truest  indication 
of  a  poet's  kinship  to  Nature.  It  means 
the  self -identification  of  the  poet  with  Na- 
ture, perfect  union  with  it.  This  is  a  sense 
of  relationship  that  modern  poetry,  in 
particular,  has  attained.  But  such  sym- 
pathy of  Nature  with  man  we  find  re- 
80 


peatedly  in  the  Bible, —  in  the  Prophets 
and  the  Psalmists.  Nature  takes  part  in 
the  joy  and  the  sorrow  of  the  poet,  in  his 
lament  and  jubilation.  Nature  is  especi- 
ally present  on  the  great  heroic  occasions 
of  Israel's  history  celebrated  in  the  Psalms. 
Consider,  for  example,  the  Psalm  singing 
the  march  of  Israel  out  of  Egypt :  the  sea 
fleeing,  Jordan  turning  backward,  the 
mountains  dancing  like  rams,  the  hills  like 
little  sheep ! 

"What  aileth  thee,  O  sea,  that  thou  fleest? 
Thou  Jordan,  that  thou  turnest  back? 
Ye  mountains,  that  ye  skip  like  rams, 
Ye  hills,  like  young  sheep? 

Tremble,  thou  earth,  at  the  presence  of  the 

Lord, 

At  the  presence  of  the  God  of  Jacob; 
Who  turned  the  rock  into  a  pool  of  water, 
The  flint  into  a  fountain  of  waters." 

Above  all,  however,  Nature  is  the  great 
wonder-book  of  God. 

"The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God : 
And  the  firmament  showeth  His  handiwork. 
Day  unto  day  uttereth  speech, 
And  night  unto  night  showeth  knowledge. 

There  is  no  speech  nor  language, 

Their  voice  cannot  be  heard. 

81 


Their  line  is  gone  out  through  all  the  earth, 
And  their  words  to  the  end  of  the  world." 

It  is  Nature,  rather  than  man,  that  re- 
flects the  majesty  and  might  of  God,  and 
it  is  a  sign  of  man's  surpassing  worth  that 
he  has  been  made  master  of  Nature.  But 
for  his  perception  of  the  beauties  of  Na- 
ture, but  for  his  keen  realization  of  its 
wonders,  the  Psalmist  would  not  have 
been  the  worshiper  that  he  was.  When  he 
hears  the  mighty  roaring  of  the  sea,  he  is 
reminded  of  the  mightier  voice  of  God. 

"The  floods  have  lifted  up,  O  Lord, 
The  floods  have  lifted  up  their  voice: 
The  floods  lift  up  their  roaring. 
Above  the  voices  of  many  waters, 
The  mighty  breakers  of  the  sea, 
The  Lord  on  high  is  mighty!" 

The  storm  so  vividly  and  powerfully  pic- 
tured in  the  twenty-ninth  Psalm  fills  him 
with  a  sense  of  trust. 

"The  Lord  will  give  strength  to  His  people, 
The  Lord  will  bless  His  people  with  peace." 

Nature  inspires  the  Psalmist  to  worship, 
and  in  his  most  exalted  moods  he  calls 
upon  Nature  to  worship  with  him,  turning 
all  the  endless  voices  of  Nature  into  one 
God-intoxicated  and  exultant  choir. 
82 


"Praise  ye  the  Lord! 
Praise  ye  the  Lord  from  the  heavens : 
Praise  Him  in  the  .heights. 
Praise  ye  Him,  all  His  angels: 
Praise  ye  Him,  all  His  hosts. 
Praise  ye  Him,  sun  and  moon: 
Praise  Him,  all  ye  stars  of  light. 
Praise  Him,  ye  heavens  of  heavens, 
And  ye  waters  that  be  above  the  heavens. 
Praise  the  Lord  from  the  earth, 
Ye  dragons,  and  all  deeps: 
Fire  and  hail,  snow  and  vapor: 
Stormy  wind,  fulfilling  His  word : 
Mountains  and  all  hills; 
Fruitful  trees  and  all  cedars: 
Beasts  and  all  cattle: 
Creeping  things  and  flying  fowl : 
Kings  of  the  earth  and  all  peoples; 
Princes  and  all  judges  of  the  earth: 
Both  young  men  and  maidens; 
Old  men  and  children : 
Let  them  praise  the  name  of  the  Lord." 


83 


VII 
MUSIC  AND  DANCE  IN  THE  PSALMS 

IN  his  great  essay  on  Poetry,  Mr.  Watts- 
Dunton  points  out  how  conscious  the 
Greeks  were  of  the  close  relation  of 
poetry  to  the  arts  of  music  and  dancing. 
At  the  Dionysian  festivals,  which  had  a 
religious  character  and  included  dancing, 
it  was  to  the  poet,  as  teacher  of  the  chorus, 
that  the  prize  was  awarded.  The  poet  was 
a  singer,  and  was  thus  designated.  Ac- 
cording to  Mr.  Watts-Dunton,  the  superi- 
ority of  Greek  poetic  art  was  due  in  no 
small  measure  to  the  consciousness  of  its 
relationship  to  the  two  sister-arts. 

What  was  true  of  Greece,  no  doubt, 
was  equally  true  elsewhere.  The  origin 
of  poetry — which  is  the  rhythmic  expres- 
sion of  human  emotions — may  safely  be 
said  to  have  been  intertwined  with  music 
and  the  dance.  In  the  course  of  time,  the 
three  separated.  Music  and  dance  de- 
veloped apart  from  Poetry.  But  the  re- 
membrance of  the  original  association 
never  disappeared.  The  dance  survived 

85 


in  the  drama,  while  music  lingered  on  in 
lyrical  poetry. 

The  Hebrews  of  antiquity  were  no  ex- 
ception. Among  them,  also,  we  see  poetry 
go  hand  in  hand  with  music.  The  same 
emotional  nature  that  gave  birth  to  the 
lyric,  the  same  love  of  contemplation  that 
was  reflected  in  poetic  rhythm,  expressed 
itself  also  in  music  and  dance.  The  most 
casual  reader  of  the  Psalms  cannot  fail  to 
observe  the  constant  allusions  to  these 
things,  and  we  cannot  understand  the 
Psalms  if  we  do  not  recognize  the  part 
that  these  two  arts  played  in  the  life  of 
the  people  that  produced  them. 

Let  us  take  music  first.  The  people  of 
the  Bible  were  a  musical  people.  They 
loved  music  and  showed  their  love  for  it 
on  every  possible  occasion.  It  is  signifi- 
cant that  the  birth  of  music  was  traced 
back  by  them  to  earliest  times,  to  the  age 
before  the  deluge.  In  the  book  of  Genesis 
we  read  that  Lamech  had  three  sons: 
Jubal,  the  second,  was  the  father  of  all 
such  as  handle  harp  and  pipe,  just  as  his 
elder  brother,  Jabal,  was  the  ancestor  of 
all  tent-dwelling  shepherds,  while  their 

86 


half-brother,   Jubal-Cain,   was   "the   in- 
structor of  every  artificer  at  brass  and 
iron."    Of  Lamech  himself  a  little  song  is 
recorded,  the  first  in  the  Bible. 
"Adah  and  Zillah,  hear  my  voice ! 
Ye    wives    of    Lamech,    hearken    unto    my 

speech ! 

For  I  have  slain  a  man  for  wounding  me, 
And  a  young  man  for  bruising  me : 
If  Cain  shall  be  avenged  sevenfold, 
Truly  Lamech  seventy  and  sevenfold !" 
All  this  is  most  significant.  One  need 
not  accept  this  account  as  historical.  It 
may  be  folklore.  But  the  folklore  of  a 
people — particularly  an  ancient  one — 
throws  light  on  its  ideas  concerning  the 
origins  and  purposes  of  life.  What  we 
have  in  this  account  is  a  suggestion,  at  all 
events,  of  the  Hebrew  conception  of  the 
antiquity  of  music,  and  perhaps  also  of 
its  relation  to  both  pastoral  and  industrial 
life.  •  Music  was  as  old  as  the  earliest 
period  of  human  history.  Its  originator 
was  brother  to  a  shepherd  and  half- 
brother  to  the  father  of  the  industries,  and 
the  father  of  them  all  was  the  man  with 
whom  the  first  song  is  associated.  There 
is  certainly  a  great  deal  of  historic  truth 
in  this  conception. 

87 


If  music  was  thought  to  have  begun  in 
earliest  times,  it  remained  a  favorite  ele- 
ment in  Israel's  life.  No  festive  occasion 
was  complete  without  it.  It  was  part  of 
every  celebration,  of  every  gathering  of 
the  people,  as  well  as  of  worship.  When 
schools  of  the  prophets  came  into  vogue, 
music  was  a  means  of  working  up  inspira- 
tion. Bands  of  musicians,  no  doubt,  were 
attached  to  these  prophetic  schools.  There 
were  regular  musicians  at  the  royal  court. 
As  for  the  Temple  worship,  the  musical 
part  of  it  grew  in  importance  with  the 
years.  King  David  is  said  to  have  or- 
ganized guilds  of  Temple  singers.  These 
guilds,;  whenever  they  may  have  origi- 
nated, certainly  gained  prominence  after 
the  exile,  first  rivaling  the  Levites  and  fin- 
ally surpassing  them  in  prestige. 

The  Psalms  are  full  of  reference  to  the 
important  part  that  music  played  in  the 
life  of  the  people. 

"Praise  ye  the  Lord,  for  the  Lord  is  good! 
Make  music  to  His  name,  for  it  is  pleasant!" 

In  fact,  most  of  the  Psalms  were  musical 
compositions,  and  there  is  good  ground  to 

88 


believe  that  even  Psalms  originally  writ- 
ten as  pure  lyrics,  were  set  to  music  later 
on  and  used  for  liturgic  purposes. 

The  very  name  indicates  it.  Psalms 
comes  from  a  Greek  word  meaning  a  song 
sung  to  a  stringed  instrument.  It  corre- 
sponds to  the  Hebrew  word  mizmor, 
meaning  the  same  thing.  When  the 
English  Version  reads:  "Sing  praises," 
as  in  the  verse  I  have  just  quoted,  the 
proper  reading  often  should  be :  "Make 
music,"  or  "Play  and  sing,"  for  that  is 
what  the  Hebrew  zammer  implies. 

The  present  Psalter  was  probably 
founded  on  a  number  of  previous  collec- 
tions, possessed  by  guilds  of  musicians, 
the  names  of  some  of  which  have  come 
down  to  us,  namely:  Korah,  Asaph,  He- 
man,  and  Ethan.  Besides,  the  titles  of 
many  Psalms  contain  musical  references, 
most  of  which  we  do  not  understand,  but 
which  no  doubt  were  clear  to  those  for 
whom  the  collection  was  made.  The  final 
compilation  was  made  for  the  liturgy  of 
the  Second  Temple,  where  it  formed  the 
hymn-book  for  a  service  that  had  mean- 
time developed  an  elaborate  musical 
89 


ritual.    Thus,  music  pervades  the  whole 
of  the  Psalter. 

"Make  a  joyful  noise  unto  the  Lord  all  the 

earth! 

Break  forth  and  sing  for  joy,  and  play! 
Sing  and  play  unto  the  Lord  with  the  harp, 
With  the  harp  and  the  voice  of  melody. 
With  trumpets  and  sound  of  cornet 
Make  a  joyful  noise  before  the  King,  the 

Lord. 

Let  the  sea  roar,  and  the  fulness  thereof ; 
The  world,  and  they  that  dwell  therein; 
Let  the  floods  clap  their  hands; 
Let  the  hills  sing  for  joy  together!" 

From  the  Psalms  we  also  learn  what 
sort  of  musical  instruments  were  in  vogue 
among  the  ancient  Hebrews.  Their  actual 
representations  are  supplied  by  Egyptian 
and  Assyrian  monuments,  as  well  as  by 
the  Arch  of  Titus. 

There  were  three  kinds  of  instruments : 
(1)  wind  instruments:  the  flute,  the  horn, 
and  the  trumpet;  (2)  string  instruments: 
the  harp  and  the  psaltery;  and  (3)  instru- 
ments of  percussion:  the  drum,  cymbals, 
and  castanets.  These  various  instruments 
had  their  special  uses :  the  flute,  e.  g.,  was 
used  specially  for  dances  and  processions, 
the  horn  for  warlike  blasts,  the  trumpet 

90 


was  the  priest's  special  instrument;  the 
drum,  also,  was  a  favorite  for  festive  pro- 
cessions. But  in  the  Psalms,  and  the 
various  events  depicted  in  them,  we  find 
them  all  united  as  in  a  grand  orchestral 
combination. 

"Praise  God  in  His  sanctuary ! 
Praise  Him  with  the  sound  of  the  trumpet: 
Praise  Him  with  the  psaltery  and  harp. 
Praise  Him  with  the  timbrel  and  dance : 
Praise  Him  with  stringed  instruments  and 

the  pipe. 

Praise  Him  upon  the  loud  cymbals : 
Praise  Him  upon  the  high   sounding   cym- 
bals: 

Let  everything  that  hath  breath  praise  the 
Lord !" 

No  less  integral  a  part  of  the  people's 
life  was  the  dance.  It,  also,  formed  part 
of  every  festive  occasion.  It  went  with 
music  and  song.  The  victories  of  the 
people  are  thus  celebrated.  Miriam  and 
her  companions  celebrate  with  song, 
music,  and  dance  the  victory  over 
Pharaoh.  In  similar  fashion  Jephtah's 
daughter  and  her  friends  mark  the  victory 
over  the  Ammonites,  while  David  return- 
ing from  the  battle  with  the  Philistines,  is 
91 


met  thus  by  the  women  of  his  time.  The 
dance  was  not  absent  from  religious  func- 
tions :  witness  David's  dancing  with  all  his 
might  when  the  Ark  is  brought  back  to 
the  land  of  Israel.  Indeed,  every  religious 
festival  and  procession  contained  the  fea- 
ture of  dancing,  as  one  may  judge  from 
the  fact  that  the  Hebrew  word  for  festival, 
hag,  was  derived  from  an  old  Semitic 
word  meaning  dance. 
"They  have  seen  Thy  goings,  O  God, 

Even  the  goings  of  my  God,  my  King,  into 
the  sanctuary. 

The  singers  went  before,  the  minstrels  fol- 
lowed after, 

In  the  midst  of  the  damsels  playing  with 
timbrels." 

It  is  because  the  festive  procession  of 
the  dance  formed  so  conspicuous  a  part  in 
the  life  of  the  people,  that  we  find  it  al- 
luded to  so  often  in  the  Psalms. 
"Sing  unto  the  Lord  a  new  song, 
And  His  praise  in  the  assembly  of  the  saints. 
Let  them  praise  His  name  in  the  dance : 
Let  them  sing  and  play  unto  Him  with  the 
timbrel  and  harp!" 

What  made  for  this  prominence  of 
music  and  dance?  It  was  the  element  of 
joy  in  the  religion  of  the  people. 

92 


"Serve  the  Lord  with  gladness, 
Come  before  Him  with  singing!" 

Israel's  religion  was  one  of  joy,  and  it 
found  expression  in  the  forms  and  the  arts 
through  which  joy  seeks  an  outlet.  This 
began  when  the  religion  of  Israel  still  had 
much  in  common  with  the  Nature  festivals 
of  earliest  times — the  vintage,  the  harvest, 
and  similar  occasions.  But  it  continued 
in  later  times.  Though  the  meaning  of 
the  feasts  may  have  changed,  their  joyous 
nature  remained,  and  it  found  vent  in 
music  and  dance,  in  song  and  psalm. 


93 


VIII 
THE  INFLUENCE  OF  THE  PSALMS 

IN  the  course  of  our  study,  we  have 
caught  a  glimpse  of  the  varied  beauty 
of  the  Psalms. 

We  have  seen  how  this  superb  collec- 
tion of  Jewish  song  grew  up,  and  what 
beauty  is  hidden  in  this  very  process  of 
growth.  We  have  examined  the  nature 
and  the  unique  excellence  of  the  poetry 
of  the  Psalms.  We  have  dwelt  on  the  Re- 
ligion that  quickened  those  sacred  poets. 
We  have,  also,  considered  the  mystic  foun- 
tains of  their  faith  and  life.  And,  finally, 
we  have  tried  to  realize  their  love  and  en- 
joyment of  Nature,  which  so  strongly  per- 
vades their  poetry,  as  well  as  the  relation 
of  the  latter  to  music  and  dance,  the 
sister-arts  of  song. 

Though  for  its  own  beauties  the  Psalter 
is  thus  remarkable,  it  is  no  less  so  for  the 
influence  it  has  exercised  in  the  life  of 
humanity.  Indeed,  no  further  evidence  is 
needed  of  the  worth  and  beauty  of  the 
Psalms  than  the  universal  joy  and  love 
95 


with  which  humanity  has  accepted  them, 
appropriated  and  cherished  them. 

There  may  be  dispute  as  to  whether  a 
work  of  art  really  should  be  judged  great 
according  to  the  universality  of  its  appeal, 
as  Tolstoy,  for  example,  would  have  us 
think.  A  work  may  be  great,  though  ap- 
preciated by  only  a  few.  But  it  certainly 
is  a  sign  of  supreme  greatness  if  an  artistic 
creation  strikes  with  wonder  and  inspires 
with  love  all  alike — the  few  and  the  many, 
the  learned  and  the  simple,  the  far  and 
the  near.  That  is  the  highest  test  of 
genius. 

And  this  is  exactly  what  has  happened 
with  the  Psalms.  Their  influence  has 
been  universal.  The  whole  world  has 
loved  them,  joyed  in  them,  made  them  its 
own.  They  have  won  the  heart  of  all 
alike — of  men  of  most  varied  stations  and 
occupations,  of  diverse  mental  cultivation, 
of  most  diverse  kinds  of  descent  and  dis- 
position. "No  single  Book  of  Scripture,'* 
says  Bishop  Perowne,  "has,  perhaps,  ever 
taken  such  hold  on  the  heart  of  Christen- 
dom." 

Mr.  Prothero  has  written  a  learned  and 
fascinating  book  to  show  what  hold  the 

96 


Psalms  have  had  on  the  heart  of  men,  and 
what  part  they  have  played  in  human  life, 
and  the  very  popularity  of  Mr.  Prothero's 
work,  passing  through  many  editions  in 
several  years,  in  itself  attests  the  power  of 
the  Psalter. 

Let  us  look  for  a  moment  at  this  influ- 
ence of  the  Psalms. 

We  see  it,  first,  in  what  it  has  meant  to 
the  religious  education  of  man. 

Whatever  may  be  the  modern  view  of 
the  Bible,  we  know  that  the  Bible  has  been 
the  great  teacher  of  religion  for  the  dom- 
inant peoples  of  civilization.  It  taught 
not  only  the  Jews,  but  inspired  and  direc- 
ted, in  various  ways  and  degrees,  Moham- 
etanism  and  Christianity. 

But  the  Bible  itself  is  not  a  uniform 
book.  Its  several  parts  show  a  variety  of 
attitude  and  conception  concerning  re- 
ligious practice.  There  is,  if  not  contra- 
diction, certainly  difference.  There  is  the 
Law  and  the  Prophets  and  Wisdom,  all  of 
which,  if  properly  understood,  forms  the 
synthesis  of  biblical  thought  and  teaching. 
Various  men  and  ages  have  responded  to 
one  or  the  other  of  these  different  voices 
97 


in  the  Bible.    Each  has  had  much  to  do 
with  the  religious  education  of  mankind. 

Now,  the  Psalms,  in  this  regard,  have 
played  an  important  part.  They  have 
taught  men  religion  not  by  precept  nor 
by  preachment,  but  by  example.  They 
are  religion.  They  breathe  religion. 
They  are  religion  alive,  at  work,  religion 
reflected  in  the  experience  of  men.  I  have 
said  that  the  Psalms  have  been  called  the 
response  of  the  human  heart  to  God.  Pro- 
fessor Cornill  has  said  even  more  signifi- 
cantly that  the  Psalms  are  Religion  be- 
come Word.  It  is  the  soul  of  Religion  that 
speaks  in  the  Psalms,  in  accents  clear  and 
melodious.  There  is  the  accent  of  trust, 
of  joy,  of  worship,  of  wonder  and  triumph. 
These  are  the  supreme  facts  and  factors 
of  the  truly  religious  life,  of  the  universal 
religious  life — they  are  the  undertone  and 
overtone  of  religious  experience,  and 
what  shall  be  left  of  religion  when  the  last 
disputant  has  spoken  and  the  last  critic 
has  died.  It  is  what,  above  all,  men  want 
to  know  and  feel  about  religion.  And 
this  the  world  has  learnt  from  the  Psalms 
more  than  any  other  part  of  the  Bible. 

98 


Then,  we  see  the  influence  of  the  Psalms 
in  the  active  life  of  men. 

When  we  read  such  a  book  as  Mr.  Pro- 
thero's,  we  must  marvel  at  the  large  num- 
ber and  variety  of  men  who  were  actually 
helped  in  their  life  and  tasks  by  the 
Psalms.  The  record  of  this  influence,  of 
this  service  and  help,  can  never  be  com- 
plete. On  all  possible  occasions,  the 
Psalms  have  been  used  as  a  source  of  help, 
inspiration,  and  spiritual  expression.  By 
all  kinds  of  individuals  have  they  been 
thus  used — by  king  and  peasant,  priest 
and  soldier,  princess  and  nun.  For  private 
and  public  ceremonies,  in  times  of  trial 
and  triumph,  for  joy  and  lament,  the 
Psalms  have  offered  material.  They  have 
been  the  voice,  as  well  as  the  companion, 
of  humanity. 

Christian  writers  tell  of  what  the 
Psalms  thus  have  meant  in  the  life  of 
Christians.  What,  then,  shall  we  say  of 
the  part  they  have  played  in  the  checkered 
life  of  the  Jew?  They  were  the  daily 
food  of  the  Jew.  Even  before  they  could 
become  a  mainstay  and  inspiration  to 
others,  they  were  such  to  the  Jew.  They 
99 


sprang  from  the  soul  of  the  Jew,  from  his 
experience,  and  needs.  Psalms  were  sung 
by  David  watching  his  flocks  amid  the 
hills  of  Judea,  they  were  chanted  by 
Levites  in  the  temple  of  Jerusalem,  they 
fused  with  the  sighs  and  sobs  of  the  exiles 
on  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates,  they  burst 
forth  in  triumph  from  the  joyous  hearts  of 
the  captives  returning  from  Babylon :  the 
Maccabees  fought  to  the  inspiring  strains 
of  the  Psalms,  the  Spanish  exiles  solaced 
their  hearts  with  them  as  they  were  scat- 
tered to  the  four  winds  by  a  cruel  country, 
and  I  am  sure  that  Jewish  martyrs  today 
still  find  in  those  Psalms  strength  and 
comfort.  Mr.  Oesterley  has  written  a 
study  of  "The  Psalms  in  the  Jewish 
Church."  Volumes  might  be  written  on 
what  part  and  influence  the  Psalms  have 
had  in  Jewish  life,  as  well  as  in  the  life  of 
humanity  in  general. 

Finally,  the  Psalms  have  had  an  incal- 
culable influence  on  literature. 

First,  the  translation   of  the   Psalms 

in    various    languages    has    meant    an 

enrichment   of   literature.     What   book 

occupies  a  higher  place  in  English  poetry 

100 


than  the  Psalter?  Secondly,  the  Psalms 
have  inspired  the  religious  poetry  of 
both  Jews  and  Christians.  The  finest 
hymns  are  those  written  under  the  inspir- 
ation of  the  faith  and  vision,  as  well  as  the 
diction,  of  the  Psalms,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  paraphrasing  of  the  Psalms  which  has 
engaged  some  of  the  best  poets,  and  which, 
alas!  could  never  approach  the  original 
for  beauty  and  power.  And,  thirdly,  some 
of  the  noblest  poems,  though  not  technic- 
ally religious  poems,  could  not  and  would 
not  have  sprung  into  being  but  for  the 
inspiration  of  the  Psalms.  It  is  a  psalm 
that  inspired,  for  instance,  Francis 
Thompson's  "The  Hound  of  Heaven." 

When  we  consider  this  influence  of  the 
Psalms  in  the  religious  consciousness  of 
the  race,  in  the  active  life  of  men,  and  in 
the  literature  of  the  world,  we  shall  not 
wonder  that  Mr.  Watts-Dunton  has  called 
the  lyric  of  the  Bible  the  Great  Lyric. 
"The  Psalms,"  says  Prof.  Cornill,  "are  the 
prayer-book  and  the  hymnal  of  Israel ;  as 
Israel  is  above  all  the  people  of  religion, 
so  the  Psalms  are  the  prayer-book  and 
hymnal  of  the  whole  world,  or  at  least  de- 
serve to  be.  Of  the  many  treasures  that 
101 


Israel  has  given  to  the  world,  they  are 
perhaps  the  most  precious.  They  re-echo, 
and  will  continue  to  re-echo,  as  long  as 
there  are  men,  made  in  the  image  of  God, 
in  whose  heart  the  holy  fire  of  Religion 
shines  and  glows;  for  they  are  Religion 
become  Word.  Of  them  may  be  said  what 
one  of  the  noblest  among  them  says  of  the 
revelation  of  God  in  Nature:  'There  is 
no  speech  nor  language,  where  their  voice 
is  not  heard :  their  line  is  gone  out  through 
all  the  earth,  and  their  words  to  the  end 
of  the  world.'  " 


102 


A  f\r\  II'  ''Hi  ill 


